SP artillery has it role and place in modern warfare. The shoot and scoop ability is still its main advantage (tough with APU, towed guns can have it too, yet in more limited scale). Wheter to have wheeled or tracked SP guns is ofcourse another thing.
Reason why I am strongly advocating other solutions than purely selfpropelled based system is that the existence of APU (auxiliary power unit) gives towed guns alot of those abilities which once were SP guns privilegs. Unlike many people often belives, the actual weapon in both SP and towed artillery pieces are/can be the very same. Only the methods to move the tube and platform around is different. For example all soviet SP guns had their towed alternatives and many western systems have or at least have been proposed both variants. The type of ammunitions and charges are not anyway tied to the gun being selfpropelled or towed one.
The idea to bring more and more sophisticated electronics and computers to artillery pieces first started from SP guns for quite obvious reasons; SP guns had the vehicles engine to power hydraulics and giving recharging the batteries for radios and other electronics. APU basicly gives all this to towed guns as well. For example our 155K98 is set from firing mode to transport mode and vice versa by using 5 control sticks for various hydralics and the transition can be made in 2 minutes from transport mode to firing mode and even faster back to firing mode. Basicly it can be done by single man tough that ofcourse increases the time however. With normal non-APU fitted towed 14 ton gun needs at least 7-8 mens and takes 10-15 minutes to set in firing mode. This enable shoot and scoop ability tough not as fast as with most modern SP units, still IMO enough to avoid all but the most modern counterbattery fire. Alongside the hydraulic, 155K98's APU powers the Talin 2000 firecontrol computer and navigation set.
Our gun is just one example of APU fitted guns and there are many other availble some even slightly...well only the very modest...better than ours with some features that makes the shoot-and-scoop ability even better (like self-lowering spades and ammunition crane). Altough APU fitted guns wont mach modern SP guns 1:1, they still give generational leap compared to normal towed guns and their cost-effectivness exspecially with manpower intense armies like PLA compared to SP guns is so considerable that no general nor politican should surpass them.
PLA has hell of alot divsions and regiments which all need their organic artillery units. Most of PLAs current artillery is desperetly outdated. Aside the SP units, most of the towed pieces are based on post-WWII era soviet designs and some are even directly based on WWII era pieces. The PLL01 (155mm) is the only even modestly modern towed system that Chinese have introduced and even it hasen't yet entered full service. The task is huge and the expences will rise to astrodominal limits if all artillery is about to be replaced by the SP systems.
So given the size of the "fleet" which needs replacements the only reasonable mean to do it and at the same time retrain (or in this case obtain) the capability of modern artillery pieces is to go with APU fitted towed guns as the main divisional level system. For mehcanised units and tank units, SP guns are prefertable solution but for infatry divisons and motorised units the towed APU guns are the way to go.
About GPS and other navigational issues later on
Reason why I am strongly advocating other solutions than purely selfpropelled based system is that the existence of APU (auxiliary power unit) gives towed guns alot of those abilities which once were SP guns privilegs. Unlike many people often belives, the actual weapon in both SP and towed artillery pieces are/can be the very same. Only the methods to move the tube and platform around is different. For example all soviet SP guns had their towed alternatives and many western systems have or at least have been proposed both variants. The type of ammunitions and charges are not anyway tied to the gun being selfpropelled or towed one.
The idea to bring more and more sophisticated electronics and computers to artillery pieces first started from SP guns for quite obvious reasons; SP guns had the vehicles engine to power hydraulics and giving recharging the batteries for radios and other electronics. APU basicly gives all this to towed guns as well. For example our 155K98 is set from firing mode to transport mode and vice versa by using 5 control sticks for various hydralics and the transition can be made in 2 minutes from transport mode to firing mode and even faster back to firing mode. Basicly it can be done by single man tough that ofcourse increases the time however. With normal non-APU fitted towed 14 ton gun needs at least 7-8 mens and takes 10-15 minutes to set in firing mode. This enable shoot and scoop ability tough not as fast as with most modern SP units, still IMO enough to avoid all but the most modern counterbattery fire. Alongside the hydraulic, 155K98's APU powers the Talin 2000 firecontrol computer and navigation set.
Our gun is just one example of APU fitted guns and there are many other availble some even slightly...well only the very modest...better than ours with some features that makes the shoot-and-scoop ability even better (like self-lowering spades and ammunition crane). Altough APU fitted guns wont mach modern SP guns 1:1, they still give generational leap compared to normal towed guns and their cost-effectivness exspecially with manpower intense armies like PLA compared to SP guns is so considerable that no general nor politican should surpass them.
PLA has hell of alot divsions and regiments which all need their organic artillery units. Most of PLAs current artillery is desperetly outdated. Aside the SP units, most of the towed pieces are based on post-WWII era soviet designs and some are even directly based on WWII era pieces. The PLL01 (155mm) is the only even modestly modern towed system that Chinese have introduced and even it hasen't yet entered full service. The task is huge and the expences will rise to astrodominal limits if all artillery is about to be replaced by the SP systems.
So given the size of the "fleet" which needs replacements the only reasonable mean to do it and at the same time retrain (or in this case obtain) the capability of modern artillery pieces is to go with APU fitted towed guns as the main divisional level system. For mehcanised units and tank units, SP guns are prefertable solution but for infatry divisons and motorised units the towed APU guns are the way to go.
About GPS and other navigational issues later on