Autonomous Turret and Integration with UAVs: New Self-Propelled Artillery System Spotted in China

A photo of a new 155-mm self-propelled artillery system was posted on Chinese social media. The vehicle was camouflaged with a net and transported on a trawl, which made it possible to see its general outline.

This is reported by the Defence Blog with reference to a photo of the self-propelled artillery system published on the Weibo.

The system has a fully autonomous turret based on the SH16 design. The crew consists of only two people – a driver and a combined gunner-commander.

The turret operates as a modular unmanned system with four main subsystems: fire, communication, chassis control and support. According to Chinese sources, it is fully digital, supporting autonomous firing and remote control.

The photo shows that the vehicle’s body has a tracked base, similar to other models of the PLZ family. Observers have also noticed similarities with ammunition supply vehicles, which may indicate a modular battery structure.

The official name of the unit is not yet known, but analysts continue to call it PLZ-051B.

It is likely to replace the older PLZ-05 and PLZ-83 models. The system is expected to have integration with control and UAV networks.