The PLZ-07 or Type 07 is a Chinese 122 mm self-propelled artillery made by the
China North Industries Group Corporation (NORINCO). The PLZ-07 self-propelled howitzer was first unveiled to the public during the military parade celebrating 60th anniversary of the
PLA on 1 October 2009. The PLZ-07 was developed to replace the older
Type 89,
Type 85 and
Type 70/70-1 122 mm self-propelled artillery systems.
Design and development
PLZ-07 seen at Beijing Military Parade in 2009
PLZ-07 largely retained the design language of
PLZ-89
The Type 89 self-propelled howitzer (military designation PLZ-89) is a 122 mm self-propelled howitzer used by China's People's Liberation Army to replace Type 85 AFV#Variants, Type 85 and Type 63 (armoured personnel carrier)#Variants, Type ...
, the previous self-propelled howitzer developed by
Norinco
China North Industries Group Corporation Limited, doing business internationally as Norinco Group (an abbreviation of "North Industries Corporation"), and known within China as China Ordnance Industries Group Corporation Limited (), is a Chinese ...
.
The new chassis for PLZ-07 self-propelled artillery is developed from
ZBD-04 infantry fighting vehicles, featuring improved armor protection, fire suppression system, and NBC protection. The vehicle is 6.66 m long, 3.28 m wide and 2.5 m high to the turret roof. It carries a crew of five and its 440 kW (600 hp) diesel engine gives it a top road speed of 65 km/h and a maximum road range of 500 km.
The PLZ07 122 mm tracked self-propelled gun mounts a PL-96 122 mm/L32 howitzer. The design of the PL-96 could be based on Soviet
D30 howitzer. The vehicle weighs 22.5 tons fully loaded and carries 40 rounds of ammunition. The gun has a maximum range of 18 km with normal ammunition, 22 km with base bleed and 27 km with rocket-assisted rounds. The gun has an elevation from 0° to +70° and a maximum rate of fire of 6–8 rounds per minute. In addition to the 122 mm howitzer, the QJC-88 heavy machine gun is mounted on the turret roof, and there are two triple banks of 76 mm smoke grenade dischargers on either side of the turret.
The PLZ-07 is land based while the PLZ-07B is the amphibious variant that shares a common design with modification derived from the
ZBD-05.
Variants
;PLZ-07: Land based variant.
;PLZ-07B: amphibious variant with unique dedicated-designed amphibious chassis. Although this vehicle is part of the PLZ-07 series, the vehicle hull shares design elements from
ZBD-05 amphibious fighting vehicle
Operators
;
*
People's Liberation Army Ground Force
The People's Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF), also referred to as the PLA Army, is the army, land-based service branch of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), and also its largest and oldest branch. The PLAGF can trace its lineage from 192 ...
– 700 units as of 2021. 550 units of PLZ-07A; 150 units of PLZ-07B.
International Institute for Strategic Studies
The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is an international research institute or think tank focusing on defence and security issues. Since 1997, its headquarters have been at Arundel House in London. It has offices on four co ...
: The Military Balance 2022, p.257
*
People's Liberation Army Navy Marine Corps – 150 units of PLZ-07B in 2022.
See also
*
List of equipment of the People's Liberation Army Ground Force
;Related development
*
Type 70 SPH – 122 mm self-propelled howitzer developed by China in 1960s.
*
Type 85 SPH – 122 mm self-propelled howitzer developed by China in 1980s.
*
PLZ-89
The Type 89 self-propelled howitzer (military designation PLZ-89) is a 122 mm self-propelled howitzer used by China's People's Liberation Army to replace Type 85 AFV#Variants, Type 85 and Type 63 (armoured personnel carrier)#Variants, Type ...
– previous generation of self-propelled howitzer system developed by China.
;Comparable ground systems
*
2S1 Gvozdika
The 2S1 ''Gvozdika'' (, "Dianthus caryophyllus, Carnation") is a Soviet Self-propelled artillery, self-propelled howitzer introduced in 1972 and is in service in Russia and other countries . It is based on the MT-LBu multi-purpose chassis, mount ...
Notes
External links
PLZ-07 122mm Self-propelled tracked howitzer armoured vehicle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plz-07
122 mm artillery
Tracked self-propelled howitzers
Self-propelled artillery of the People's Republic of China