At the end of World War II, the Red Army, which would soon (in 1946) be renamed the Soviet Army, had approx. 9.8 million people formed in approx. 500 divisions of various types. This number was reduced relatively quickly, but during the Cold War (1945-1991) the total number of Soviet armed forces ranged from about 2.8 to about 5.3 million people. In the mid-1980s, i.e. during the war in Afghanistan, the Soviet land forces numbered about 210 divisions, of which as many as 160 divisions were motorized infantry divisions made up of conscripts. The motorized rifle division consisted of three infantry regiments, one armored regiment, a self-propelled artillery regiment and numerous support units, primarily characterized by a relatively strong anti-aircraft defense consisting of artillery and missile sets. The basic weapon of the Soviet infantryman at that time was the very successful AK-47 machine gun, later modernized to the AK-74 standard. The support weapons were light and heavy machine guns. Wheeled armored personnel carriers (APCs) were an important means of transport, initially they were BTR-152, but later BTR-60, BTR-70 and BTR-80. It is assumed that around 1990 there were approximately 70,000 different types of armored personnel carriers in various technical conditions in the Soviet Army. It is worth adding that the Soviet units during the Cold War were trained primarily for full-scale conflict with NATO, and Western Europe was considered the most likely area of operations. In such a conflict, it was assumed that the progress of the motorized infantry division would be from 80 to 100 kilometers in the first 3-4 days of the operation.
The prototypes of the ZSU-23-4 Shilka self-propelled anti-aircraft system were built in the years 1957-1961 at Zak³ady Mechaniczne based in Ulianów. The set entered the service of the Soviet Army in the early 1960s, and serial production ended with the production of about 6,500 pieces of the vehicle. The ZSU-23-4 Szy³ka is powered by a single 280 HP W-6R engine. The main armament of the vehicle is four 23mm AZP-23 automatic anti-aircraft guns. The ZSU-23-4 Shilka self-propelled anti-aircraft system was designed to replace the ZSU-57-2 set. It differed from its predecessor in many ways. First of all, a new chassis, a more perfect engine and much more modern main weapons and electronics. The ZSU-23-4 was also equipped with a radar with a parabolic antenna that allowed for independent target tracking. The process from detecting the target to opening fire was also largely automated. In the 1960s and 1970s, the ZSU-23-4 Szy³ka was one of the most modern self-propelled anti-aircraft systems in the world. The ZSU-23-4 Szy³ka was widely exported to the countries of the Warsaw Pact and the Arab countries of the Middle East. It proved its high efficiency especially during the Yom-Kippur War in 1973.