PLZ-07

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.^[1]

PLZ-07 Self-Propelled Howitzer
PLZ-07 Self-propelled artillery during Vostok 2018
Type	Self-propelled artillery
Place of origin	China
Specifications
Mass	24.5 tons
Length	6.6 m
Width	3.28 m
Height	2.5 m
Crew	5
Caliber	122 mm
Traverse	360°
Maximum firing range	Standard: 18 km Base bleed: 22 km Rocket assisted: 27 km
Main armament	122 mm howitzer
Secondary armament	12.7 mm anti-aircraft machine gun
Engine	diesel 600 hp
Suspension	torsion bar
Operational range	500 km
Maximum speed	65 km/h

Design and development

PLZ-07 seen at Beijing Military Parade in 2009

PLZ-07 largely retained the design language of PLZ-89, the previous self-propelled howitzer developed by Norinco.^[2] 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.^[3]

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 12.7 mm × 108 mm 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.^[4]

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.^[2]

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^[5]

Operators

 People's Republic of China

• People's Liberation Army Ground Force – 700 units as of 2021. 550 units of PLZ-07A; 150 units of PLZ-07B.^[6]
• People's Liberation Army Navy Marine Corps – 150 units of PLZ-07B in 2022.^[7]

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 – previous generation of self-propelled howitzer system developed by China.

Comparable ground systems

• 2S1 Gvozdika