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DISPATCH 04/26 · 23 Oct 2026
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Lexicon · China

PLZ-05

China’s main modern tracked 155 mm self-propelled howitzer — a L/52 autoloaded gun fielded by the PLA since 2008, with no export record and no verified combat use.

PLZ-05
FIG.01 · China Image - PLZ-05. Photo by Tyg728, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
A 155 mm tracked self-propelled howitzer documented in PLA brigade training by the Chinese Ministry of National Defense.

Overview

The PLZ-05 is a 155 mm tracked self-propelled howitzer used by the People’s Liberation Army, as identified in an official Chinese Ministry of National Defense photograph caption. The ministry documented training with the system by a brigade of the 82nd Group Army in late September 2025, while China Military Online published a photograph of a 76th Group Army brigade firing a PLZ-05 in November 2025. Interesting Engineering reported in September 2026 that a heavy combined-arms brigade of the 71st Group Army had received an unspecified batch of PLZ-05s to replace 122 mm artillery.

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