Friday, November 21, 2008

PLZ-45

IOC: 1997

Origin
China

Contractor/s
NORINCO

Family Members
PLZ-05

Munitions:
Krasnopol-M

Description: PLZ-45 is a Chinese 155mm 45-caliber self-propelled howitzer (SPH) utilizing a tracked chassis. The 155mm gun is a Chinese development based on Austrian technology delivered to China in the mid-1980s. NORINCO and a group of Chinese Research Institutes developed the PLZ-45 SPH in the early 1990s for the export market. The resulting weapon system is indeed the Chinese counterpart to US M109 self-propelled howitzer. The Kuwait Army ordered this artillery system in 1997 and the People's Liberation Army (PLA) adopted the new artillery system thereafter.

Firing rocket assisted projectiles (RAPs) PLZ-45's primary armament can hit targets at ranges of roughly 40 kilometers. The 155mm main gun utilizes a semi-automatic loading system. A roof-mounted 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun serves as secondary armament. Like the US M109, PLZ-45 charges and projectiles replenishment also depends on a Field Artillery Ammunition Support Vehicle (FAASV), called W653A. In the 1990s China developed its own 155mm laser-guided projectile based on the Russian/Soviet Krasnopol. The LZ-45 can fire that 155mm laser-guided projectile.

Specifications
Accommodation: Crew 5

Guns: Main Gun Caliber 155 mm45-caliber

Dimensions: Height 2.6 m, Length 10.5 m, Width 3.3 m

Weights: Max Weight 33 t

Performance: Main Gun Max Range 24,000 m (78,740 ft), Max Range firing RAP 39,000 m (127,953 ft), Top Speed 40 kph (25 mph)

Power: Power 520 hp

Other: Magazine Capacity 30, Max Rate of Fire 5 rounds per minute, Sustained Rate of Fire 2 rounds per minute

Operators

see operators map | see family operators map

China

Kuwait / 48

As of	Holdings
2005	48

Notes
(*) lead contractor
IOC: Initial Operating Capability
FOC: Full Operating Capability
CEP: Circular Error Probable
Comm: Commissioning Date
Meters (m) Kilometers (km) Nautic Miles (nm) Inch (in) Yard (yd) Foot (ft) Millimeter (mm)
Pound (lb) Kilogram (kg) kN (KiloNewton) Ton (t)
Meters per Second (mps) Kilometers per Hour (kph) Knot (kt) Miles per Hour (mph)
Liter (l) Galon (gl)
Year (yr) Minutes (min) Second (sec)
Shaft-Horse-Power (shp)

Last Updated: Saturday, October 25, 2008

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