Beijing creates jet systems capable of reaching Taiwan
China is considered the birthplace of gunpowder, as well as the birthplace of firearms, including artillery. But after the Second World War, the country was completely dependent on the import of military equipment of all classes. The Armed Forces of the People's Republic of China, officially established in 1949, were initially equipped with Soviet-made artillery (there were captured Japanese guns, but they were too much inferior in quality to the Soviet ones, besides there was nowhere to get spare parts for them). In the early 1950s, China switched to its own production of equipment by copying Soviet samples (first under licenses, then without them).
FORMATION OF ARTILLERY
Under the same name, the Tour 54 was copied 122-mm howitzer M-30 and 152-mm D-1 with a firing range of both 12 km. Then, under the name Toure 59, the 130-mm M-46 gun was copied, later improved (reduced weight, increased rate of fire) under the name Toure 59-1, the firing range reached 38 km. The Soviet 122-mm D-74 cannon in China turned into the Tour 60 with a firing range of up to 24 km, the 152-mm D-20 howitzer in China became the Tour 66 (export name PL-66) with a range of up to 18 km, the 82-mm mortar PM-41 was produced under the name Tour 53, then in an improved version of the Tour 67. The number of guns fired in any of the cases is unknown, but we are obviously talking about thousands of copies.
The 12-barrel 107-mm towed multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) became its own artillery system created in China Ture 63 with a firing range of up to 8.5 km. The mass of the MLRS was a little more than 600 kg, the calculation on the battlefield could move it with his hands. Due to its lightness and compactness, the MLRS proved to be very popular both in the PLA itself (it is still in service with airborne forces and light brigades) and abroad, including among partisan groups.
Since the 1970s, after the break with the USSR, attempts have been made in China to create self-propelled artillery units (ACS) on various chassis. So, the Toure 54 gun on the chassis of the Toure 63 APC became the 122-mm Toure 70 self-propelled gun. Several variants of this ACS were created, but the total output was only about 150 cars.
The Toure 83 self-propelled gun (aka PLZ-83) was a Toure 66 howitzer on a specially designed chassis, and the Toure 59-1 cannon was installed on the same chassis. The latter option turned out to be completely unsuccessful, and the 152-mm Tour 83 in the amount of up to 400 units entered service with the PLA ground forces and is still available in some parts (for example, in the 188th heavy brigade of the 82nd Army Group of the Central Command).
Efforts continued to improve the towed artillery. An attempt to create a 122-mm gun of the Tour 83 of its own design to replace the Tour 54 was unsuccessful, but a copy of the Soviet D-30 with a firing range of 15-18 km was put into service under the same name (then its improved versions of the Tour 86 and Tour 96 were created). The Austrian 155 mm gun GC-45 (GHN-45) with a firing range of up to 40 km was copied under the name Toure 88 (aka PLL-01, aka WAC-021). It was the copied D-30 and GC-45 that allowed China to create new self-propelled guns, which form the basis of Chinese artillery so far.
ON TRACKS AND ON WHEELS
At first, a 122-mm self-propelled gun Tour 85 was created by installing the Tour 83 (D-30) gun on the chassis of the Tour 85 APC, but it did not go into production. The Tour 89 self-propelled gun (aka PLZ-89) with the same gun on the chassis of the floating Tour 77 APC turned out to be much more successful, at least 500 vehicles of this type were produced. A further development of this ACS was the Tour 07 (PLZ-07), created at the beginning of the XXI century by installing the Tour 96 gun on a slightly modified Tour 04 BMP chassis. There is a floating version of this self-propelled gun PLZ-07B (on the chassis of the amphibious BMP Tour 05, aka ZBD-05). In total, there are now more than 1,1 thousand 122-mm self-propelled guns Tour 89 and Tour 07 in the regular parts of the PLA, the production of the latter continues, and Tour 89 are transferred to reserve units.
The 155-mm Toure 88 gun was installed in the 1990s on a specially designed chassis, which made it possible to create the PLZ-45 self-propelled gun. It became purely export, entering service with the armies of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Algeria. Based on it, at the beginning of the XXI century, a 155-mm self-propelled gun Toure 05 (PLZ-05) was created for the PLA itself, it is considered the most powerful barrel gun in China (and the Chinese consider this self-propelled gun the best in the world). Its firing range exceeds 40 km, with an active-rocket projectile – more than 50 km. Now the PLA has more than 300 such self-propelled guns, production continues.
Wheeled self-propelled guns became a separate direction of development, the active development of which began in the XXI century. First, a 122-mm wheeled ACS Tour 09 (aka PCL-09, export name SH-1) was created with a firing range of 20-30 km, its development became PCL-161 and PCL-171. Finally, the 155-mm self-propelled gun PCL–181 (export name - SH-15) entered service (gun as on the Tour 05 self-propelled gun). Tour 09, PCL-161, PCL-181 use trucks as chassis, in PCL-171 a 122-mm gun is mounted on a jeep. Another direction of this class of Chinese equipment are self-propelled guns on the chassis of wheeled armored personnel carriers. The 120 mm self-propelled mortar Toure 05 (aka PLL-05) is placed on the chassis of the armored personnel carrier Toure 92 (aka ZSL-92, aka WZ-551). At the same time, however, there is a tracked version of the PPZ-10 on the chassis of the Tour 04 BMP. The PLL-09 ACS is a 122-mm gun on the chassis of the Tour 08 wheeled APC (aka ZBL-08).
The advantage of wheeled self-propelled guns in comparison with traditional tracked ones is considered to be higher speed and mobility (due to less weight). Now the PLA has more than 600 PLC-181 and at least 600 PLL-09, production of both continues. The number of PLL-05 self-propelled mortars apparently exceeds 1.5 thousand.
In addition to the aforementioned towed 107-mm MLRS Tour 63, a 19-barrel 130-mm MLRS of the same name was created in the early 1960s with a firing range of up to 30 km on a truck chassis. Its development was the Tour 70 (on the chassis of the BTR Tour 63), 244 such MLRS were produced. In 1969, the PLA experienced the effect of Soviet "Grads" (on Damansky Island), soon the Chinese managed to get this MLRS (apparently, having captured it from Vietnam in 1979). After that, a 40-barrel 122-mm MLRS Tour 81 (aka RNL-81) with a firing range of 20-30 km was created in China: the same "Grad", only on a Chinese-made automobile chassis. The "lightweight" 24-barrel version was called the Toure 83.
Then a variant of this MLRS Tour 89 (PHZ-89) was created on a tracked chassis (from 152-mm ACS Tour 83), and an additional ammunition set of 40 unguided rockets (NURSov) was placed on the car. A further improvement was the version of the Tour 90 (PHL-90) on a new automobile chassis, this MLRS is mainly export.
In recent years, China has created a 122-mm MLRS Toure 11 (RNL-11) with a firing range of different types of projectiles from 20 to 50 km. There are also 40 guides, but in two packages of 20, they are no longer a copy of the BM-21. A tracked version of this MLRS Toure 10 (PHZ-10/11) is also being produced, there are export versions of the SR-4 and SR-5 (including in a modular version with the possibility of using 220-mm NURSes as well). Wheeled and tracked MLRS Tour 10/11 are replaced in regular parts of the MLRS Tour 81/89, which are transferred to the reserve units. The total number of 122-mm MLRS in the PLA is at least 2 thousand units.
THE MAIN TRUMP CARD OF THE PLA
As for large-caliber long-range MLRS, China is the undisputed world leader in their development today, and the influence of foreign technologies is minimal here.
The WM-80 (range up to 80 km) and WM-120 (up to 120 km) eight-barreled 273-mm MLRS developed in the early 1990s remained purely export, having entered service with the Armed Forces of Armenia and Jordan in small quantities. At the beginning of the XXI century, two Chinese MLRS were created on the basis of the Soviet 300-mm MLRS "Smerch". The ten-barrel A100 with a range of up to 100 km also became purely export (bought by Pakistan), and the 12-barrel Tour 03 (aka PHL-03, export name AR-2), much closer to the Soviet original, with a range of up to 130 km, entered service with the PLA, at least 300 MLRS have already been released, production continues. Guided projectiles are included in the ammunition of both MLRS (the trajectory is corrected by the Chinese Beidou space radio navigation system). An improved version of the A100 – an eight–barrel MLRS A200 - is produced in Belarus under the name "Polonaise", and was sold from there to Azerbaijan.
Since the beginning of the XXI century, the WS. 302-mm WS-1B family of MLRS has been in development and production, it has four guides, the firing range reaches 180 km, this MLRS entered service with the Turkish Armed Forces under the name T-300 "Kasigra". There is a variant of WS-64, from which RCC can be used. The WS-2 six-barrel 400 mm MLRS has a firing range from 200 km (WS-2B) to 400 km (WS-2D), can use guided missiles, barrage ammunition and even anti-submarine guided missiles (ASW) in the WS-3 variant. There are 6-9 cars in the WS MLRS division.
Finally, it enters service (for partial replacement of the Tour 03) of the Tour 16 MLRS (aka PHL-16), which has a modular construction principle. It can carry either ten guides for 300-mm missiles, or eight for 370-mm missiles, or two ballistic missiles with a range of up to 500 km. More than 50 such MLRS have already been released.
Long-range MLRS from deep within the territory of the People's Republic of China can hit targets in Taiwan and other neighboring countries (in Russia, Mongolia, India, Vietnam). They are equipped with the 1st MLRS brigade of the Eastern Command and the 2nd Brigade of the Southern Command.
FROM XINJIANG TO TAIWAN
After the 2017 military reform, each of the 13 army groups, as well as in the Xinjiang and Tibetan military districts, has one artillery brigade (numbered 71 to 85). The standard composition of such a brigade is two divisions of ACS Tour 05 (18 ACS in each division), two divisions of ACS PCL–181 (also 18), two divisions of MLRS Tour 03 (12 MLRS in each division). PCL-181 come to replace 152-mm guns Tour 66, and MLRS Tour 03 – to replace 122-mm Tour 81.
However, not all artillery brigades have such a composition. So, the Toure 05 tracked self-propelled guns apparently do not exist in the 71st Brigade of the Eastern Command, the 77th Brigade of the Western Command, the 80th Brigade of the Northern Command, the 83rd Brigade of the Central Command, as well as in the 84th Brigade of the Xinjiang Military and the 85th Brigade of the Tibetan Military. Moreover, in all these brigades there are already PCL-181 and there are Ture 66 guns.
In the 76th Brigade of the Western Command, the Tour 66 has not yet been replaced by the PCL-181 ACS. In the 77th, 80th and 83rd brigades, along with the MLRS Tour 03 division, the MLRS Tour 81 division (18 vehicles) remains. On the other hand, in the 71st and 72nd Brigades of the Eastern Command and the 74th Brigade of the Southern Command in one of the MLRS divisions, the Tour 03 has already been replaced by the Tour 16. In addition, the RSL-181 self-propelled guns entered the artillery regiments of all four divisions of the Xinjiang Military District.
In the combined arms brigades of the PLA there is one artillery battalion (division), in the combined arms battalions (four in each combined arms brigade) – one artillery company (battery). The artillery battalion of the heavy brigade (there are now 29 such brigades) has three batteries of 122-mm self-propelled guns (Tour 89 and/or Tour 07) and a battery of tracked 122-mm MLRS PHZ-10/11, nine self-propelled guns/MLRS in the battery.
The composition of the artillery battalion in the amphibious brigade of the ground forces is similar (ACS Tour 07B, MLRS Tour 81 or Tour 89), there are six such brigades. In the artillery battalion of the Naval Marine Brigade (there are also six of them), apparently, there is no MLRS battery, there is only a Tour 07B self-propelled gun. The artillery battalion of the medium brigade (there are 22 of them) consists of three batteries of 122–mm wheeled self-propelled guns PLL-09 (eight to nine vehicles each) and a battery of 122-mm wheeled MLRS Tour 81 or PHL-11 (also eight to nine). In some heavy and medium brigades, towed guns of the Tour 66 and Tour 96 are still in service. Combined arms battalions of heavy and medium brigades have six to nine PLL-05 self-propelled 120 mm mortars.
Light brigades (20 in total), mountain brigades (five), as well as airborne brigades (six subordinate to the Air Force) are armed with PCL-09/161/171 wheeled self-propelled guns, Tour 96 guns, Tour 63 MLRS, Tour 81 and Tour 11 (in the PHL-11 variant), as well as 82-mm and 120 mm mortars. The compositions and structures of these brigades are very different.
In addition, the PLA ground forces have 10 coastal defense brigades. Their exact composition and structure are unknown, but, obviously, it is here that outdated towed guns are sent, primarily the Tour 59-1 and Tour 66. At least one coastal defense brigade of the Eastern Command recently received 155-mm self-propelled guns Tour 05 and 300-mm MLRS Tour 03.
Also, many reserve divisions and brigades remain in the PLA (including, for example, the reserve artillery division of the Beijing garrison consisting of five regiments). They contain most of the obsolete weapons, including old towed guns, self-propelled guns, MLRS. Only a small part of the equipment withdrawn from the regular PLA forces is sent to museums or for disposal. Therefore, the number of artillery systems in the PLA can be 15-20 thousand units, only its command knows the exact number.
Alexander Khramchikhin
Alexander Anatolyevich Khramchikhin is an independent military expert.