Image source: Photo: "Bravery2004"
Designers from North Korea in the late 70s managed to create a long-range self-propelled artillery installation, which received the Western designation M-1978 or "Koksan". In honor of the town where she was first spotted by American intelligence.
With a caliber of 170 mm, it could send projectiles at a distance of 60,000 meters. Rate of fire - no more than two shots within 5 minutes.
Chinese-made Type 59 tanks were used as chassis. Weight - 40000 kg. The speed is 45 km/h. The calculation is six people.
A number of such self-propelled guns were sold to Iran, which used them in the war with Iraq.
In the mid-80s, a new version of the M-1989 was developed, outwardly resembling the Soviet 2C7 "Peony" cannon.
In response to the appearance of the 155-mm K9 cannon in South Korea, the DPRK began working on its own model of a 152-mm self-propelled gun. The novelty, known as M-2018, was presented in September 2018 at a military parade in honor of the 70th anniversary of the DPRK.
It has a traditional layout - the engine is located in the front of the body. A long-barreled gun is believed to be capable of hitting 40,000 meters when using active-reactive ammunition. That is, by the same amount as the mentioned K9, Polish Krab or German PzH 2000 (the latter, by the way, has a standard projectile designed for 36,000 m in general). The rate of fire and mobility characteristics are approximately the same.
The ACS has a fire control system with special sensors and satellite navigation. According to some reports, these guns are currently being mass-produced and are being put into service.
