SamuraiBlue
Captain
Isn't it a bit long to place it on a tank?
Next generation tank gun?
- Thread starter SinoSoldier
- Start date
Until we get dimensions, who knows. But it definitely doesn't look like it's meant to be only towed, it appears more like a gun meant for a turret.
The length of the gun is likely a deliberate choice for improved performance against other tanks. Larger calibre guns like 140mm and even 152mm were trialled in the past and abandoned, looking equally long if not longer than this 125mm one.
It's certainly not impossible for PLA to adopt a gun of the same diameter as their current MBT standard but with a longer barrel. That of course would lead to a larger turret, and larger tank overall, which are all expected.
broadsword
Brigadier
How does it aim at a moving target so that it can fire an APFSDS round? It does not seem to have the mechanism to track by slewing.
I think it is meant to be fitted onto a turret operationally. The current towed arrangement is only for display and transport purposes. The fact that it is meant to fire anti tank weapons like APFSDS makes says to me that it is definitely meant to be put on a turret.
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Anyway, L/55 120mm gun is 6.6m long, which doesn't seem too far from the gun we see here. The increased barrel length compared to L/44 while retaining same internal geometry and same ammo can increase maximum range (by 1.5km), higher peak pressure and higher muzzle velocity.
The presence of single round APFSDS for this 125mm gun as opposed to two piece rounds in carousel autoloaders of older guns makes me think that if/when it is adopted by PLA, we may end up seeing a bustle autoloader (which can use single piece rounds). Single piece rounds have longer rods, which translates to greater penetrating power.
A 125mm round versus a 120mm round also means more propellant. A longer gun means more range and more muzzle velocity. All in all the claim that the 127th institute's claim that this is the world's most powerful gun of this type could have some merit, depending on the type of ammunition used.
TerraN_EmpirE
Tyrant King
Lengthening the Gun Barrel is a option. The L44 44 calibres long gun has been phased out by a number of nations MBT's For the L55 at 55 Calibers and in between there are 50 calibre and 52 calibre lengths. the only issue really of length is weight and getting the gun pointed in urban or woodland. The Standard for the Russians was the 2A46 whaich is 48 calibres long (cut down from it's towed version which was 55 calibres,) Of course the PLA's Type 99 already has a longer gun then the Russians There 125mm is about 51 Calibres
It's a 125mm gun, not a 152mm gun... And PLA seems to be standardizing to 155mm and 122mm for artillery, I can't see them adding 125mm into the mix.
I mean the new 125mm gun could be fixed in tank turrent as it is not for now.
The 155 protype is an example.