China mounts the largest naval cannon it has ever built on a test ship

China mounts the largest naval cannon it has ever built on a test ship

He largest naval cannon never seen on a warship of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) of China It is now closer to being proven. Photographs published in Chinese defense forums and subsequently collected by various media show the new cannon. 155mm mounted on a Chinese ship that could be a weapons test ship Type 910.

The images were taken at the shipyard of Liaoningnext to the naval base of Lushun of the PLAN, an industrial complex that has been associated with advanced naval experimentation and integration work.

If confirmed, the system would surpass the cannon 130mm H/PJ-38 currently installed on the most powerful PLAN ships, including destroyers Type 052D and Type 055which would mark a notable change in China’s naval artillery profile. If deployed, the weapon would be the largest caliber naval artillery piece in active service in the PLAN.

Historically, the largest naval guns of the Chinese Navy were had by the Republic of Chinabefore becoming the current People’s Republic of China in 1949. The HMS Aurora that the British Navy Sold to China in 1948, it was the last one equipped with cannons. 152mmsix, and sunk in 1949 during the Chinese civil war.

A ‘155mm naval guided missile gun’

The weapon fits with previously published information about China’s development of a 155mm naval gun. An image of an information plaque that appeared online earlier this year indicates that the system weighs approximately 21,800 kilograms and is described as a ‘155mm naval guided missile gun’.

Although the terminology suggests compatibility with precision-guided munitions, there is no evidence that the weapon fires missile-type rounds in the conventional sense. The name probably refers to guided artillery shells. The manufacturer would be State Factory 447 and the production date is listed as March 2025.

Information based on open sources has also linked the development of large-caliber naval systems in China with Inner Mongolia Northern Heavy Industries Groupof NORINCOa division with long experience in producing 155mm artillery, although Chinese authorities have not confirmed the program.

Also on a Type 071 landing ship

TurDef, citing other images, has reported that it was also sighted a Type 071 landing ship with a 155 mm gun installed in a shipyardso there could already be two ships on which the 155 mm cannon is mounted. The outlet suggests that the vessel could be acting as a testing platform or that the PLAN could be evaluating different integration options on amphibious ships. As a precedent, China already used a landing ship Type 072 modified to test a prototype of electromagnetic cannonalso known as railgun, naval in 2018.

According to the defense media The War Zone, the current large-caliber naval gun of the operational PLAN, the 130 mm H/PJ-38, derives from the Soviet family AK-130. Although the exact range of the Chinese system has not been officially disclosed, it is often cited that the AK-130 offers approximately 23 kilometers. A 155mm system could have greater range, particularly if combined with extended range guided munition, although no performance figures have been published.

Larger caliber naval artillery has traditionally been associated with sustained bombardmentespecially during amphibious operations. In front of the cannons 76mm and 130mm that the PLAN uses on most ships, a 155 mm system would deliver a higher payload per shot and probably more effective range.

TurDef points out that, although such a cannon would probably would reduce the rate of fire and also some flexibility of short-range anti-aircraft defense Compared to smaller caliber systems that use proximity-fuzed ammunition, it could significantly increase bombing capacity. The availability of guided projectiles would also improve accuracy against fixed shore targets.

China is not the first country with 155mm naval artillery. American destroyers of the class Zumwalt They were originally designed around the 155mm Advanced Gun Systemdesigned to fire long-range guided ammunition, although the high cost of ammunition ended up curtailing that concept.

As to which PLAN ships might incorporate the 155mm gun if it is eventually deployed, it is unclear. China Defense Blog raises the possibility of modernizing destroyers Type 055 or introduce the system in a future class of surface ships, but it is a hypothesis without official confirmation.