Another product of ad hoc combining naval and land weapons was noticed near the russian-occupied Sevastopol, this time in an attempt to make additional air defense equipment. They mounted an AK-630 anti-aircraft gun on a KamAZ truck, as shown in a photograph shared by the Crimean Wind community on Telegram.
Previously, russian engineers also had created other chimeras like 2M-3 or 2-UK-T shipborne guns, or А-22 Ogon naval MLRS installed on MT-LB armored vehicles, although the last recorded sighting dates back to 2023. Among more recent are russian experiments with RBU-6000 anti-submarine bomb launchers on various platforms.*
As for the new KamAZ–AK-630 hybrid, the main question is not even why it exists — if anything, the russian forces fighting against Ukraine have been suffering a shortage of air defense means — but how they managed to mold them together.
Basically, it’s a six-barreled 30mm anti-aircraft gun that was intended specifically for weapon nests on ships, fully integrated into the vessel’s power and fire control systems. Purpose-wise, AK-630 is a “last resort” air defense weapon for destroying airborne threats at very close ranges of 4 to 5 km.
The gun is usually laid remotely via the MR-123 artillery fire control system which includes a target detection and tracking radar, a television display and controllers, and a collimator column sight as a backup. In addition, they needed to ensure the power supply to the gun.
Apparently, somehow russians managed to solve these technical challenges and redesigned at least one AK-630 for the land chassis, including the control system with calibration of the controls. At the same time, the powerful recoil of this anti-aircraft artillery system raises questions about its accuracy when it’s firing at a rate of 4,000–5,000 rounds per minute from a KamAZ standing still. Ordinarily, the total ammunition magazine is 2,000 rounds.
Regulation-compliant shooting is done in up to 6 bursts of 200 rounds with a break of 1 second, or 6 bursts of 400 rounds with a 5-second break. The main problem of all similar rapid-fire systems is the short service life of its mechanisms, in this case the six-barreled machine gun can endure 8,000 rounds, even with all the preventive maintenance.
Noteworthy is the parallel between the russian hybrid and the invention of the government forces of Yemen that operate BTR-152 armored vehicles with an AK-630, or at least the GSh-6-30K anti-aircraft gun separately, installed on top. It remains unknown, though, if this weapon works or not in this configuration. Either way, it shows that mounting an AK-630 on a KamAZ truck wasn’t a totally unprecedented solution.
Another system of note is the M163 VADS, developed and actively used with the M113 chassis in the USA back in the 1960s. The installation utilized an 20mm M61 Vulcan gun pre-equipped with its own fire control system with a radar.
*For more details, read our articles about RBU-6000 naval rocket systems mounted on an Ural truck, MT-LB armored vehicle, and T-80 tank chassis, as well as an RBU-1200 Uragan system combined with a ZU-23-2 carriage.
