DESCRIPTION

ZіL-131 with DShKMd crew - Armed Forces of Ukraine

The all-wheel-drive ZIL-131 has a reliable design, excellent off-road capabilities, and high load capacity. Although produced in the 1980s, it remains actively used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine as a versatile platform for various tasks. In combat, some trucks are field-modified with heavy small arms or light artillery weapons. One common modification involves mounting a DShKM machine gun in the truck bed on pedestals or mounts, transforming these vehicles into mobile machine gun platforms for fire support or engaging aerial targets. The DShKM is a powerful weapon with broad applications. Its muzzle energy reaches 19.2 kJ, and its high rate of fire combined with reliability makes it one of the best in its class. It’s also effective against lightly armored vehicles—the B-32 armor-piercing incendiary round penetrates 20 mm armor at distances up to 500 meters. The machine gun uses various ammunition types: armor-piercing, incendiary, armor-piercing incendiary, tandem, explosive, and others.