The Vietnam National Defense TV channel published the first images of the domestically developed 130mm self-propelled howitzer
called PTH130-K225B
This is the first time that Vietnam has the ability to manufacture such a large caliber self-propelled howitzer
It was built on the basis of learning from Cuba's Jupiter V self-propelled gun
According to revealed information, the main gun is a 130mm caliber M46 gun, and the chassis system is a KrAZ-255 truck
The M-46 is a cold war artillery piece produced by the Soviet Union from 1951 to 1971
The PTH130 is completely similar to Cuba's Jupiter V
According to reports, Vietnam’s version was developed with Cuba’s assistance
It is also known that its development was carried out by the country’s Military Technical Institute since 2017
International observers have calculated that the total weight of the SPH is between 20 to 23 tonnes
The gun’s performance itself is likely unchanged from the original M-46 towed artillery with an elevation range between -2.5° to 45°, traverse angle of 50°
The gun fires separate-loading charge-and-projectile ammunition with a dimension of 130 x 845 mm
with a maximum firing range of 27.5 km (38 km with a rocket-assisted projectile)
and a rate of fire between 5 to 8 rounds per minute – depending on fire mode
The modified KrAZ-255 truck base will be powered by a 240 hp diesel engine giving it a maximum speed of about 70 km/h on paved road
and a maximum range of around 450 km on full internal fuel
It is currently unknown how many of the PTH130 SPH will be acquired by the People’s Army of Vietnam
This is not the first time that Vietnam has converted conventional artillery into self-propelled artillery based on truck chassis systems
In the past, Vietnam also converted 105mm guns into self-propelled guns
But using the same idea with the 130mm M46 gun is very difficult, because this large gun has a very high recoil and a much larger weight
The conversion of old artillery into self-propelled artillery will ensure extremely high mobility on the battlefield
improve the combat performance of artillery, easily maneuver on the battlefield and avoid enemy counter-fire