Norinco in China unveils turreted truck-mounted 155mm howitzer

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — China’s state-owned land systems manufacturer Norinco has revealed a new type of truck-mounted howitzer. The highly automated system, which is aimed at export markets, mates a 6x6 truck chassis with an unmanned turret containing a 155mm L/52 howitzer.

The weapon was shown alongside existing artillery products in a Norinco promotional video clip circulated to coincide with Lunar New Year celebrations around Feb. 10. The video was highlighting a Chinese artillery marketing event attended by foreign delegations.

The turret on the new artillery piece is identical to that used on the SH16 tracked self-propelled howitzer, a design that first appeared in Norinco’s catalog in 2022. There is no evidence the tracked SH16 exists in prototype form, but there are no such questions about the wheeled SH16 since the video showed it performing live firing.

The new platform sees the same 14-tonne SH16 unmanned turret mounted onto a 6x6 truck chassis. Norinco lists a combat weight of 32 tonnes, or 70,000 pounds. An earth spade at the rear provides stability when firing, and it is operated by just two crewmen in an armored cab.

Dennis Blasko — a former U.S. defense attache in Beijing and Hong Kong and a prominent expert on the PLA — told Defense News the gun appears to be the same as that on the PLC-181 truck-mounted howitzer in widespread PLA service.

Blasko said the PLC-181 is fielded in more than half the artillery brigades assigned to the PLA’s 13 group armies, and in Xinjiang and Tibet. The Military Balance 2023 report from the International Institute for Strategic Studies estimates 600 PLC-181s are in service.

Blasko said this wheeled SH16 is aimed squarely at the export market. “In the past, I’ve seen Norinco show prototypes or models of a family of weapons and hope that foreign buyers would help finance further development of some of the variants,” he said. “That might be the case with this turreted variant.”

China recently completed development of an automated rotary magazine for artillery modular charges. It possesses at least seven magazine tubes, each of which can contain up to six propellant charges. This system, featured on a CCTV news clip, is presumably used on the SH16, but could be destined for the PLA’s next-generation 155mm artillery systems too.

Discussing the trajectory of PLA artillery, Blasko said, “Over the past 15 years, as PLA modernization has hit its stride, artillery has been a major component for organization, equipment and doctrinal development.

“Though there are still some legacy types of artillery in the inventory, the bulk of the force is new, produced since the 2000s,” he added.

Gordon Arthur is an Asia correspondent for Defense News. After a 20-year stint working in Hong Kong, he now resides in New Zealand. He has attended military exercises and defense exhibitions in about 20 countries around the Asia-Pacific region.

新西兰基督城——中国国有陆地系统制造商北方工业公司（Norinco）发布了一种新型车载榴弹炮。这款高度自动化的系统面向出口市场，它将6x6卡车底盘与装有155毫米L/52榴弹炮的无人炮塔相结合。

在2月10日左右农历新年庆祝活动期间，北方工业公司发布了一段宣传视频，其中展示了这款武器以及现有的火炮产品。该视频重点介绍了一场有外国代表团参加的中国火炮营销活动。

新型火炮的炮塔与SH16履带式自行榴弹炮的炮塔完全相同，该设计最早出现在北方工业公司2022年的产品目录中。目前没有证据表明履带式SH16存在原型车，但轮式SH16不存在此类疑问，因为视频显示其进行了实弹射击。

新平台采用与SH16相同的14吨级无人炮塔，并将其安装在6x6卡车底盘上。北方工业公司公布的战斗全重为32吨，即7万磅。炮塔后部装有土铲，可在射击时提供稳定性。操作该炮塔只需两名乘员，他们位于装甲驾驶室内。

丹尼斯·布拉斯科（Dennis Blasko）——美国前驻北京和香港国防武官，解放军问题专家——告诉《防务新闻》，这门炮似乎与解放军广泛使用的 PLC-181 车载榴弹炮上的炮相同。

布拉斯科表示，PLC-181型自行榴弹炮已装备解放军13个集团军中一半以上的炮兵旅，并在新疆和西藏地区也有部署。国际战略研究所发布的《2023年军事平衡》报告估计，目前约有600门PLC-181型自行榴弹炮在役。

布拉斯科表示，这款轮式SH16的设计目标明确指向出口市场。“过去，我曾见过北方工业公司展示一系列武器的原型或模型，并希望外国买家能够资助某些衍生型号的进一步研发，”他说。“这款炮塔式SH16或许也是如此。”

中国近期完成了一种用于火炮模块化装药的自动旋转弹匣的研制。该弹匣至少包含七个弹匣管，每个弹匣管最多可容纳六个发射药装药。央视新闻片段中展示了该系统，据推测该系统目前用于SH-16自行高炮，但也可能用于解放军的下一代155毫米火炮系统。

布拉斯科在谈到解放军炮兵的发展轨迹时说：“过去15年来，随着解放军现代化进程的加快，炮兵一直是组织、装备和理论发展的重要组成部分。

“虽然库存中还有一些老式火炮，但大部分火炮都是2000年代以来生产的新型火炮，”他补充道。

戈登·阿瑟是《防务新闻》的亚洲特派记者。在香港工作20年后，他现居新西兰。他曾到访亚太地区约20个国家，参加过军事演习和防务展览。