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China And Pakistan Are Collaborating On A Truck Howitzer
DECEMBER 4, 2018
tags: 155mm, arms exports, IDEAS 2018, Norinco, self-propelled howitzer, SH15, Zhuhai Air Show


Via Youtube.

During the recent IDEAS 2018 arms show in Karachi the state-owned manufacturer Heavy Industries Taxila (HIT) displayed its entire product catalog. A genuine surprise was the appearance of an unnamed 6×6 truck mounting a large caliber artillery piece. Upon closer inspection the vehicle was identified as the “SH15,” a new truck howitzer model from China’s Norinco that was also put on display at this year’s Zhuhai Air Show in Guangdong. The SH15 is the world’s newest self-propelled artillery piece and seems to have found a predictable customer–China’s favorite client state.

Although truck howitzers–often large trailers modified to support an artillery piece–have become fashionable in the global arms industry, militaries all over the world haven’t embraced the trend yet. Indeed, some of the largest ground forces in Asia–India, Iran, North/South Korea, Russia, and Turkey–aren’t keen on adopting truck howitzers.


Even China’s PLA maintain a huge inventory of older towed howitzers, mostly 122mm and 152mm models copied from Soviet designs, and a rare truck howitzer called the PCL-09 is limited to units in the south and southwest. The SH15, however, is the latest iteration of the SH-series self-propelled artillery catalog meant for export. Its original variant the SH1 enjoyed modest success with deliveries to Myanmar. The SH15, by comparison, features a number of improvements while retaining a 52 caliber 155mm gun able to hit targets as far as 50 kilometers away with specialized ammunition.


The SH15 at an indoor display during the Zhuhai Air Show. Via Chinese state media.

The SH15 is based on a 6×6 chassis for a flatbed truck and is broadly similar to the Israeli ATMOS 2000 and the South African Denel T5. The armored cab offers seating for the gun crew, who number a mere handful, and operating the 155mm howitzer is done by remote control. To stabilize the gun before firing, for example, two hydraulic spaces that work like split trails on a towed howitzer form a “V” shape on the ground for cushioning the gun’s immense recoil. Each round and its propellant are loaded manually and the rate of fire per-minute is no different from a towed howitzer’s. A novel feature of the SH15 is its magazine arranged in an open compartment behind the cab with individual rounds stored in airtight cylindrical tubes.


Via Chinese state media.

How soon the SH15 enters service with Pakistan’s army is unclear. But for HIT to display a foreign vehicle means it has acquired the expertise for local production. A new 155mm self-propelled howitzer will go a long way in rehabilitating the army’s atrophied artillery arsenal. To date, aging US-made howitzers offer few advantages versus the Indian army’s upcoming generation of artillery pieces. The Pakistan army’s collection includes 315 155mm M109 self-propelled howitzers; 88 203mm self-propelled and towed howitzers; 322 155mm towed howitzers; 216 105mm towed howitzers. Nearly a thousand 130mm and 122mm towed howitzers acquired from China are becoming antiquated as well.

But the SH15 may only see limited service with Pakistan’s army given its constant budget woes. At best, these truck mounted 155mm howitzers should complement the proven M109/A5’s and are easier to maintain and transport. When it comes to extreme range and sheer firepower in conventional war, the PHL-03 multiple rocket launcher is a better investment than amassing multitudes of guns. Still, HIT’s privileges with Chinese weapons technology shows the depth of the Beijing-Islamabad alliance.





THE NEWS SCROLL21 DECEMBER 2019 Last Updated at 3:26 PM | SOURCE: IANS
China overhauls Pak firepower, to supply 236 howitzer guns





China overhauls Pak firepower, to supply 236 howitzer guns

New Delhi, Dec 21 (IANS) Amid heightened tension across the across the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan has engaged China to overhaul its firepower, sources said on Saturday.

Pakistan Army inked a deal with China Northern Industries Corporation (NORINCO) this year to procure artillery guns, the SH-15 Howitzer. Pakistan wants to procure 236 of these artillery guns with transfer-of-technology (ToT) clauses and plans to place them along the LoC.

"It could be nuclear-capable," said a source.

NORINCO has also inked a deal with Pakistan''s premier defence manufacturing unit, the Heavy Industries Taxila in overhauling the main battle tank Type 85-IIAP, which is an improvement over Type 80 MBT line.

About procurement of artillery equipment, the source said, "On June 27, 2019, Pakistan Army signed a contract worth $512 million with NORINCO to procure the SH-15 Howitzer."

Sources stated that NORINCO has received the first instalment of payment of $ 20 million late November this year. NORINCO will deliver a total 236 of artillery guns SH-15 to Pakistan Army''s 13 Artillery Regiment with transfer-of-technology (ToT) clauses, sources said.

Sources further pointed out that NORINCO will also supply adapted ammunition to Pakistan Army.

Sources said that SH-15 trials were carried out near Karachi earlier this year.

About overhauling of tanks, sources said NORINCO is assisting Heavy Industries Taxila in overhauling of the main battle tank, Type 85-IIAP. The first phase of overhauling has been completed, said sources.

For the second phase of the project, NORINCO has received an advance payment of $27,834,100 for overhauling of 106 tanks.

The sources said after payment was received, NORINCO has started the second phase and plans to add more fire powers to the tanks.

Pakistan Army has in total 268 Type 85-IIAP tanks in its inventory and these were procured from China in the late 1990s, sources said.

The SH-15 system uses a 6A-6 wheeled Shaanxi truck chassis for carrying a 155 mm howitzer mounted at the rear of the truck. The truck also has two spades connected to the howitzer at the rear for stabilising the system.

(Sumit Kumar Singh can be reached at sumit.k@ians.in)

--IANS

sk/prs



Disclaimer :- This story has not been edited by Outlook staff and is auto-generated from news agency feeds. Source: IANS
 
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Delivered?

E0C9CE2B-FF0F-48C8-9EC9-A4CC057C49F9.jpeg
 
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Posted here a year ago.
Firing stability(=accuracy) comparison
French Caesar
640


Swedish Archer
640


Chinese SH15
640


640


640


The stability of SH15 is impeccable. The SH15 did not even budge unlike the above two Archer and Ceaser. It will be/is a Wonderful addition to our fleet.
 
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Pakistan had been looking for similar Howitzers for some time now . We tested artillery pieces from South Africa,Serbia,Turkey, China and other countries. In our current economic scenario, i think the Chinese SH-15 is the best option.
sh-15-image08.jpg

But recently South Africa have tested 70+km range capable gun+munition which should be looked into.
 
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nope, not when the warhead is a tactical neutron bomb with a radius of around 10 to 15 km...our boys will sit back and...well, watch the indians burn. ;)
That’s what i thought keeping NASR in mind.

BTW, something like this

Posted here a year ago.
Firing stability(=accuracy) comparison
French Caesar
640


Swedish Archer
640


Chinese SH15
640


640


640


The stability of SH15 is impeccable. The SH15 did not even budge unlike the above two Archer and Ceaser. It will be/is a Wonderful addition to our fleet.
From observation, SH-15 has best recoil effect handling ability
 
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Ewww so ugly.

We had better options from Denel and Nora.

Is it possible for Chinese to arm twist us into buying only from them?
 
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usually chinese deliver stuff with in a few weeks. if this was from PLA inventory it would b faster. but i don't think pla has these yet. i could be wrong.

in 2002 Chinese Airforce lent pakista 90 F7PG aircraft from their inventory with in 1 day. this is not 2002 it is 2020. think big. as friendships and reliance has grown so have the assets.
Friendship has grown but also the status of China has changed. China is now actually being considered as super power and have a big market
 
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The best thing with China-Pakistani military cooperation is that it keeps Indians guessing. With very little lead time between 'wanting' and 'deployment' it becomes very tricky for Indian planners. This could be one of the major reason why DG ISPR was and is always confident about our ability to 'dominate the escalation ladder' at all times

Of course, hats off to Pakistani military planners as well who are always abreast with developments on the borders and are planning a few steps ahead mostly hence reducing further time between testing various systems and actually deploying them
 
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When it was on display during IDEAS 2018 it already had passed summer trials so news has to be true

Towed systems are suitable for LOC deployment. 300 wheeled systems for LOC are highly unlikely.
PA didnt report M-109L acquisition openly in media.
We asked many senior guys during IDEAS 300 is less than what we were told we were given number of 500.
 
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