Photos of the Day: PLAN’s 155 mm Advanced Gun System Heads to Sea Trials

A May Day surprise? If so, the PLAN definitely has a sense of humor.
Back on February 18th, 2025, when photos first surfaced showing a new 155 mm gun mount installed on a Type 909‑series test ship, it was clear that sea trials could begin at any moment. Fast‑forward to May 1st and sure enough, she’s out at sea.

The appearance of this system marks another step in the PLAN’s ongoing push to modernize its naval gun technology. While details remain limited, one unconfirmed report suggests the gun may be a 43‑caliber design. As always, until official information emerges, it’s best treated as an early datapoint rather than a firm specification.

Regardless, the fact that the system has moved from pier‑side installation to open‑water testing is noteworthy. The Type 909 test ships have long been the PLAN’s workhorses for evaluating new sensors, weapons, and combat systems, so seeing a major new gun system aboard one is a strong indicator that development is progressing.

More photos and details will no doubt surface as sea trials continues, but for now, the May Day timing adds a bit of extra flair to an already interesting milestone.

Wednesday, February 18, 2026

PLAN's new 155mm naval gun is now mounted

photos from a PLAN test ship indicates that the new 155 mm naval gun system is approaching formal evaluation.  

 

Sunday, August 17, 2025

A closer look: PLAN's 155mm naval gun

Recent imagery circulating on Chinese defense forums suggests the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is moving ahead with deployment of a 155 mm naval gun system. In concept and role similar that of US Navy’s Advanced Gun System (AGS), optimized for delivering sustained, precision fire in support of amphibious and coastal operations.

Looking at the following photos below indicates the weapon is likely to be integrated into an upcoming guided‑missile destroyer (DDG) class. Of course, there's no surprise that PLAN intent to enhance long‑range naval gunfire support (NGFS) capabilities, leveraging larger‑caliber munitions for improved reach, payload flexibility, and shore bombardment effectiveness to an island somewhere east of China.
 

The adoption of 155 mm naval artillery could:

•     Expanded land‑attack portfolio alongside missile systems.
•     Interoperability potential with advanced guided projectile tech.
•     Doctrinal shift toward sustained fire support in joint operations.

Reassured, we will be seeing it onboard of a PLAN vessel soon

 

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

New PLAN Development Of The Day: 155mm Naval Guided Missile Gun

As of today,  the heaviest naval combatant under the PLAN command is the Type055 DDG, sporting a H/PJ-38 130mm naval gun, the same H/PJ-38 also found on the type Type 052D.   Reading the plaque, this new "155 mm Naval Guided Missile Gun" was freshly minted in March 2025 (this month) by the State Factory 447 weighting in 21800 Kg.

The next logical set of questions are: 

1) Retrofiring the Type055 from 130mm to this new 155mm?  

2) A new class of PLAN "heavy" is under consideration? 

 Both 1 and 2?

Your guess is as good as mine.

 

Tuesday, July 22, 2025

A cleaner picture of the the PLAN Test Ship 856 with a new AESA active phased array radar

 

Tuesday, May 13, 2025

Photo Of The Day: PLAN Test Ship 856 with a new AESA active phased array radar

The Chinese Navy PLAN's second Type 909A "weapons integration" test ship was launched at the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard in March 2006. 

Initially bearing a hull number (892, later changed to 856 in 2021) and bearing the name of Hua Luogeng (link) in honor of the renowned Chinese mathematician born in 1910).   It was commissioned into the North Sea Fleet 

In this PR photo released yesterday, Hua Luogeng 856 is showing off a new AESA active phased array radar is installed at the stern, continuing its role as a test ship.  See previous blog entries blow  

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Photo of the day: DH-10 LACM on test ship 892.

 

Weighing In on the Ka‑52 Rumors and the Latest Z‑21 Photo

 
Rumors have been circulating for months about a possible sale of Russian Ka‑52 “Alligator” attack helicopters to China. Nothing solid has emerged, but the speculation alone has kept the conversation lively—especially now that a fresh photo of China’s new Z‑21 heavy attack helicopter is making the rounds.

From a design standpoint, the Ka‑52 has always been an interesting machine, particularly for naval use. Its coaxial rotor system eliminates the tail rotor entirely, which removes one of the most common hazards in helicopter operations: tail‑rotor strikes. It also means more of the engine’s power goes directly into lift and maneuvering rather than feeding a tail rotor. The result is a compact, highly controllable aircraft—traits that make it well‑suited for tight shipboard environments.

It’s no surprise, then, that navies have shown interest. The Egyptian Navy plans to operate Ka‑52s from its two Mistral‑class carriers, and the Russian Navy originally intended to deploy the Ka‑52K on the same French Mistral‑class ships before that deal fell apart.

China has followed similar logic before. In the late 1990s, the PLA Navy imported the Ka‑28, and in the early 2010s it added the Ka‑31. At the time, many PLAN frigates and destroyers were relatively small compared to their Japanese, Korean, or U.S. counterparts. Operating midsize helicopters from those compact decks was challenging, and the Ka‑31’s handling characteristics made it the more practical choice over the Z‑9 for certain missions. The PLAN has generally been satisfied with these Kamov platforms and only recently began phasing in the domestically produced Z‑20F for anti‑submarine roles.
That history is what makes the current Ka‑52 chatter intriguing. At the same time, the new Z‑21 photo suggests China is pushing ahead with its own heavy attack helicopter program. The Z‑21 appears to follow a more conventional design philosophy, but its size, layout, and emerging features indicate China is aiming squarely at the same high‑end category occupied by the Ka‑52 and other modern attack helicopters.

If past patterns hold, there are two ways the PLA could approach this:
Buy a small batch of Ka‑52s and absorb lessons from the coaxial rotor system, or acquire the technology directly, as China has already produced civilian and unmanned coaxial‑rotor helicopters.

Either path would make it far less surprising to see a coaxial‑rotor attack helicopter operating from Chinese amphibious ships in the future.

As for the latest Z‑21 photo, the “6***” serial prefix strongly suggests this airframe belongs to the PLAAF,another hint that China’s heavy‑attack helicopter ecosystem is expanding in multiple directions at once.

Monday, December 01, 2025

Surprise of the day: Z-21 Heavy Attack Helicopter in PLAAF numbers

"The new PLA Z-21 heavy attack helicopter has long been expected to enter service with the PLA Ground Force’s Army Aviation (LH)units, in line with the introduction of other recent helicopter models. However, another photo showing a Z-21 bearing PLAAF serial numbers (6232) and camouflage suggests that the aircraft is instead joining the Helicopter Regiment of the 130th Air-Assault Brigade, 15th Airborne Corps, under the PLAAF,  a rather surprising development. Although not widely publicized, the PLAAF does maintain one organic air-assault brigade equipped with helicopter units under its command.

 

 

Monday, July 14, 2025

Photo Of The Day: Z-21 heavy attack chiopper with millimeter-wave fire-control radar (FCR)

 

Sunday, December 08, 2024

CG Of The Day: Z-21 Heavy Attack Helicopter with Millimeter-wave AESA phased array mast fire control radar

 CG Credit, of course, goes to 大包CG

 

Sunday, March 10, 2019

Confirmed, the new PLAAF airborne brigade has an organic chopper regiment

Helicopter Regiment, 130th Air-Assault Brigade, 15th Airborne

A WZ-10 attack helicopter attached to a helicopter regiment with a PLA airborne brigade lifts off from the parking apron of an airbase for a round-the-clock flight training mission on March 6, 2019. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Deng Xiaoning)
 http://eng.chinamil.com.cn/view/2019-03/08/content_9444969.htm

Wednesday, April 25, 2018

PLAAF Airborne's new assault brigade

12 months after the last great PLA orbat reform, CCTV airs its first report on PLAAF's assault brigade thus confirming its existence.   Source (here)

央视网消息：作为国防和军队改革后组建的新质作战力量，日前，组建刚刚一年的空军空降兵某空中突击旅首次亮相练兵场，开展多机型伞降训练和空地协同训练，迈开了由传统伞降部队向多能空中突击部队转型的坚实步伐

Saturday, April 29, 2017

15th Airborne Corps' new ORBAT

The CMC decommissioned three divisional headquarters (43rd, 44th and 45th) on April 19th,  their regiments are now reformed into 6 brigades (127th, 128th, 130th, 131st, 133rd, and 134th) directly under the corps headquarters .   Additionally,  there will be a new SpOps Brigade , a Strategic Support Brigade (Engineering, Communication, etc) and an Aviation Brigade(Fixed And Rotary Wing Aircraft) bringing to a total of 9 line brigades. 

Sunday, January 19, 2014

PR Photos of the day: Vertical assault of an PLAAF airborne battalion combined arms battlegroup

Monday, January 18, 2010

15th Airborne Corps (ABC) is testing their vertical envelopment/air mobility capability

The 15th ABC's organic helicopter regiment was first revealed during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake rescue work and then by a high profile fly-by during the 60th national day celebration.

It is now time for the 15th to test its newly found air mobility assault capability in a large military exercise. The advantage of air mobile assault over airdrop are many: ranging from entire unit delivery in one place--which immediately allows combat-readiness, precision resupply landings, to on-station fire support from helicopter gunships. In time, it will be interesting to see if a small portion of the 15th ABC will be converted into air-cavalry to enhance the corps' mission profile.

 

Capitalism with Chinese characteristics of the day: Hawking cheap ATGM (AFT-11E/Red Arrow 11E/GTS9)

 The war in Ukraine offers many military lessons to the world, one of them being that using hard to produce, expensive weapons against, cheap, easy to deploy OpFor in a static war of attrition does not make a lot of economic sense.    Norinco, being a good communist as they are, actually listen to customer demand and the ever change marketing condition now offers.  They are now offering an lower cost variant    of the current in service Anti-tank Guided Missile, called AFT-11E/Red Arrow 11E/GTS9. 

This new missile model being offered to export prioritizes affordability, lightweight design, precision, and resistance to electronic countermeasures (quoting marketing here). Typically, it operates in two modes:  man-portable or vehicle-mounted. It is manned by a two-person crew. The entire weapon system features a launch tube, thermal/daylight sights, a laser designator, and a lightweight tripod for faster deployment time and foot mobility.  

The missile weighs approximately 14–15 kilograms and has a diameter of 140 millimeters; its effective engagement range from 100 to 5,000 meters. Utilizing laser beam-riding guidance for high hit probability. It is equipped with a tandem shaped-charge warhead designed to defeating explosive reactive armor, with a penetration depth of 1,000–1,200 millimeters of rolled homogeneous armor (RHA)

 

Saturday, May 17, 2025

Capitalism with Chinese characteristics of the day: Hawking fiber optic FPV

With the widespread deployment of fiber-optic FPV drones in Eastern Ukraine, Chinese entrepreneurs are keen to seize every available business opportunity. While direct drone sales in that region may not be viable, numerous opportunities exist elsewhere.

Descriptions indicate that models ranging from 3KM to 15KM per fiber-optic drum are being offered, including a mothership variant.

 

 

Wednesday, September 10, 2025

Capitalism with Chinese characteristics of the day: Missile theme pillows

Chinese Capitalism: Because nothing says sweet dreams like spooning a missile-shaped pillow.

 

Friday, April 18, 2025

Capitalism with Chinese characteristics example of the Day: Warship billboard advertisements

Yesterday, a photo of a fourth batch Type052D DDG under construction at the Dalian Shipyard leaked on the "China Internet" together with a series of billboard advertising pushing Sinopec's "X-power" marketing campaign (link), acting as a great representation of today's Chinese capitalism. 

Here are some considerations for advertising (link) on a modern DDG as borrowed from City Bus (link)

 Why advertise on a bus errr I meant on a PLAN Naval Major Surface Combatant like a Destroyer? 

• The answer here is simple: Exposure. Based on the location of your advertisement, you’re appealing to a fixed audience for a longer period of time than other outdoor advertising media types. If your ads are inside a bus, you have a captive audience in the passengers for the duration of their ride

How to select your route? (now change to PLAN's ocean-going route to maximize the commercial impact)

• There are a few factors that can contribute to how you pick the bus route you’ll use for advertising and relying on the expertise of an outdoor media company like Effortless Outdoor Media is a great way to narrow your choices down. By conducting a needs analysis with each client, we help figure out the goal of your outdoor advertising campaign and then work to locate the right places to advertise. Having a partner in ad placement is crucial because it saves time and money while ensuring a higher level of success with your campaign, however, some additional things to consider when selecting a bus route are: