P150G2P Songsu-po

P150G2P Songsu-po
Type	Self-propelled howitzer
Place of origin	Menghe
Service history
In service	2004-present
Used by	See "Operators"
Wars	Innominadan Crisis Innominadan Uprising
Production history
Designer	Samsan Defense
Manufacturer	Northwestern Armored Vehicle Plant
Produced	2005-present
No. built	3,600+
Specifications
Weight	48 metric tonnes
Length	11.63 m (including gun)
Barrel length	7.88 m
Width	3.38 m
Height	2.97 m to turret roof
Crew	5
Caliber	150mm
Breech	Vertical sliding block
Elevation	-5° to +65°
Traverse	360°
Rate of fire	8 rounds/min (max) 2 rounds/min (sustained)
Maximum firing range	24.6 km (standard ammunition) 36 km (base bleed ammunition) 58 km (RAP)
Main armament	150mm L/42 howitzer
Secondary armament	12.7mm GCh-75 HMG
Engine	880 hp
Power/weight	18.3 hp/ton
Suspension	torsion bar
Ground clearance	340mm
Operational range	550 km (road)
Speed	60 km/h (road)

The P150G2P Songsu-po ("Pine Gun") is a type of self-propelled howitzer developed in Menghe. It is armed with a 150-millimeter, 46-caliber gun in a fully enclosed armored turret built on the IMCh-J Koppulso universal medium tracked chassis. It was developed as the successor to the P150G1P Mogryon-po, and it currently serves as the Menghean Army's main regimental and divisional artillerypiece, with over 3,600 units in service.

Development

The P150G2P was preceded by a group of new self-propelled howitzer programs launched in the mid-1980s in the Democratic People's Republic of Menghe. These programs aimed to develop a self-propelled howitzer with a longer firing range than the P150G1P Mogryon-po then in service. No full-scale prototypes were built prior to the Decembrist Revolution, but scale models and paper studies evaluated a number of alternatives, including self-propelled howitzers on the JCh-5 chassis. None of these studies directly led to the P150G2 system, but they did help Menghe's defense industrial sector gain further experience with self-propelled gun design.

The defense cuts of the early reform era brought the various long-range artillery projects to the halt, though some design bureaus continued independent development.

Several factors combined in the late 1990s to restart interest in a new artillery system. First, 1999 saw the introduction of two new self-propelled howitzers in the region: the Hanhaean K9 Thunder, and the Dayashinese Type 99. Second, the Menghean Army's intervention in the Polvokian Civil War had revealed a number of shortcomings with existing weapon systems, including the inadequate range of the P150G1P Mogryŏn-po. Third, some design bureaus had quietly launched development independently in order to design a new vehicle for the export market, a first in Menghe. With defense budgets still rising after the Polvokian intervention, the Menghean Ministry of National Defense invited existing design teams to submit their proposals for a new Menghean self-propelled howitzer.

Samsan Defense, a subsidiary of the Samsan Group, was among the entrants to the competition. Originally founded as the state-run Northeast Steel Company, Samsan had been reorganized into a larger heavy industry group in the mid-1990s, and during that time it had acquired a design team from the shuttered Minchŏl Tank Factory. Though most of its earlier products were modernization kits for JCh-2 and JCh-4 medium tanks, Samsan Defense had already conducted preliminary work on export howitzers from 1997 onward, and the launch of the MoND's new howitzer competition in 2001 provided it with the prospect of lucrative domestic sales.

Samsan submitted its completed proposal for evaluation in 2003. The Chikai Heavy Machine Building Plant, a state-owned factory with an in-house design bureau, submitted its main competitor, an updated 1985 design with an enclosed turret on the hull of the JCh-5 main battle tank. Samsan's entry quickly emerged as the favorite, owing to its roomier interior, larger ammunition stowage capacity, and more advanced fire-control system. The Samsan prototype was approved for production in 2004 under the designation P150G2P, marking a first in Menghe's new mixed economy: a private-public Jachi-hoesa enterprise had defeated a state-run design bureau in a defense bid.

Development

The first proposal, from the well-established Design Bureau of the Inmin-Chŏlgang-Nodongja Vehicle Plant, was a continuation of a prototype the bureau had started work on in the mid-1980s. It featured a roughly square turret on a lengthened MinChong-5 tank chassis, offering good mobility and protection. Yet it retained the tank’s rear-engine configuration, which High Command considered sub-optimal for reloading and crew configuration. Instead, the military staff chose a competitor design from Samsan, a Jachi-hoesa conglomerate which had only recently been formed out of the state-run Menghe Steel Corporation. Samsan’s design followed the then-conventional next-generation SPG layout, with the engine in the front and the turret in the rear. It did share a few components with the Inmin-Chŏlgang-Nodongja prototype, including the L/48 gun and parts of the fire control system, but was otherwise an independent design. Impressed with the working prototype’s capabilities, Army High Command awarded a production contract in 1999, with deliveries beginning the following year.

Design (JJP-152/48A)

The JJP-152/48 follows a conventional SPG configuration. The engine, a 780-horseopower diesel powerpack, is located in the front right side of the hull, with the driver in the front left. With a power-to-weight ratio of 19.1 horsepower per tonne, the system has good offroad mobility and a fairly high road speed. The turret, which can rotate through 360 degrees, is on the rear of the hull, and contains the gunner/commander and two loaders. The shell loader, seated on the right side of the breech, has a rotating cupola overhead, which he can use to survey the immediate area for threats.

When the vehicle is stationary or firing from a prepared base, this four-man crew may be accompanied by an additional two to four assistant loaders, who carry ammunition from supply trucks to the rear of the vehicle. The JJP-152/48B (see below) can carry out similar reloading missions from a dedicated armored loading vehicle.

Armament

As its designation suggests, the main armament of the JJP-152/48 is a 152mm, 48-caliber gun-howitzer. When firing standard high-explosive shells, the weapon has a maximum range of 27.2 kilometers, almost ten kilometers further than maximum range of the JJP-152/27. Base-bleed shells can extend this to about 34 kilometers, while rocket-assisted shells can reach a range of 46 kilometers when fired from the gun. The system is capable of firing the Mumohan GPS-guided shell, to engage precision targets such as bunkers and headquarters. It is also fully compatible with all high-explosive, submunition, canister, smoke, and other shell types used by other Menghean 152mm guns.

As on later variants of the JJP-152/27, the loading system is semi-automated, but uses a more efficient assembly to achieve a higher burst rate of fire. Maximum sustainable rate of fire for a concentrated barrage is 6 rounds per minute, compared to 4 rpm in the 152/27. The highest rate of fire can be achieved in MRSI mode, with three rounds fired in a 16-second interval (the time of each loading-firing cycle is 8 seconds) fired with different charges at different trajectories to arrive on target at the same time. The system is capable of switching from a road march to a firing position in 30 seconds, and can transition back to a road march in the same amount of time; in combination with these fire modes, this allows the system to engage in shoot-and-scoot missions, relocating between barrages to avoid counter-battery fire. Due to strains placed on the crew, gun, and loading system, and to limit ammunition consumption, in a sustained stationary bombardment the rate of fire would be restricted to 1-2 rounds per minute. The vehicle carries a total of 60 rounds in internal storage.

If a firing platoon is threatened by enemy units on the ground, the main gun is capable of engaging in level-fire mode, with direct-fire sights mounted on top of the turret. In this mode it can fire either standard high-explosive rounds or HEAT shaped-charge ammunition. It officially has a direct-fire range of 3 kilometers, but because the direct-fire fire control system is simpler and APFSDS ammunition is not provided, accuracy against a moving point target such as a tank is less than what Menghean MBTs can achieve.

For close-range defense against infantry, the shell-loader has a 7.62mm DG-71 general-purpose machine-gun mounted on his cupola. This fires from 100-round box magazines, with an additional four boxes stored inside the turret.

Protection

Like its predecessor, the JJP-152/48 is fully protected against 12.7mm and 14.5mm armor-piercing ammunition, as well as shell fragments and overpressure blasts. It is not protected against tank and autocannon ammunition, light infantry anti-tank weapons, or antivehicular mines, but is unlikely to encounter these while operating behind friendly lines. The hull and turret can be fully sealed against CBRN contaminants, with an advanced filtration system to supply clean air from outside. An air conditioning system also serves to keep the turret livable in tropical summer conditions along the Innominadan border, but mostly to prevent the electronics from overheating.

Variants

JJP-152/48B

A generational upgrade, the JJP-152/48B adds compatibility with new electronics and machinery which were not available when the original system was under development. These include a more precise fire-control computer, including an independent wind and temperature sensor and a muzzle reference radar mounted on top of the barrel. The latter is briefly activated after each shot is fired and measures the speed and drift of the departing shell in order to determine what minor corrections are necessary for the next round. The new fire-control system also shortens into- and out-of-action transition times to 15 seconds, and reduces the time necessary to reach a fire solution, increasing the speed with which an artillery battery can respond to a fire mission from a lower-level unit. The automatic loading machinery underwent minor changes as well, increasing the MRSI burst mode to 4 rounds in 21 seconds (a 6.7-second reload cycle). Finally, the JJP-152/48 has a modified ammunition port in the turret rear, allowing compatibility with the TUJ-152 ammunition transfer vehicle.

Other minor changes to the JJP-152/58B include additional external boxes on the turret, which are used to store spare equipment. This includes a long box on the turret’s left side which is capable of holding a YJG-38 shoulder-launched surface-to-air missile in its launcher. As on later JJP-152/27 variants, this is meant to allow the charge loader or gunner/commander to dismount, unpack the launcher, and engage a helicopter or low-flying aircraft if the battery comes under attack.

TUJ-152

The (탄약운반장갑차 , Tanyag Unban Janggabcha, "ammunition-carrying armored vehicle" is a type of specialized reloading vehicle which entered service alongside the JJP-152/48. It emerged from the recognition that the external loading crew necessary for sustained fire missions or replenishment in between shoot-and-scoot barrages would be vulnerable to artillery bombardment and chemical weapons. Anticipating a state design competition, Samsan’s design team produced a fully enclosed ammunition resupply vehicle to allow reloading while both vehicles are fully armored and enclosed.

The TUJ-152 uses the same tracked utility chassis as the JJP-152/48. This allows it to maintain a high level of parts commonality, and to follow the self-propelled guns over difficult offroad terrain. It also has the same all-around armor protection. The most visible difference is a fixed superstructure in place of the rotating turret, with a munition transfer bridge running forward over the hull. This bridge has a few degrees of horizontal and vertical traverse, allowing it to align perfectly with a matching receptacle on the 152/48B’s turret rear. Once the two are aligned, a canvas shroud extends forward to seal the connection. If this stage is completed correctly, both vehicles can remain isolated from CBRN contaminants in the environment.

Once the vehicles are connected, the TUJ-152 is capable of transferring 12 rounds per minute via an automated belt system assisted by two crewmen, and carries a total of 120 rounds in stowage. It has a crew of three: driver, commander, and ammunition drive operator. As on the SPG, the commander has a rotating cupola with a 7.62mm DG-71 general-purpose machine-gun for defense against infantry.

Other Variants

• JJP-155/47: Export variant with a 155mm caliber main gun. It is fully compatible with standard 155mm foreign artillery munitions. The self-defense cupola gun can be changed to fit the customer’s request.
• TUJ-155: Export variant of the TUJ-152, modified to match the JPP-155/47’s caliber. It has a slightly reduced ammunition capacity. The self-defense cupola gun can be changed to fit the customer’s request.
• JJP-152/56: Experimental chassis with a longer 56-caliber gun, first spotted in 2015. It carries the official designation Sije-Chalyang 1216.

• JDYJ (중간은 다용도 장갑차, Jungganŭn Dayongdo Janggabcha): An intermediate between the KDYJ and GDYJ, the “Medium Multipurpose Armored Vehicle” refers to the basic chassis used by the JJP-152/48. Due to its proven reliability and convenient configuration, the chassis has been used for a wide variety of other heavy utility vehicles. Those related to the JJP-152/48 are listed below.
  File:48-PBS system.png

  The three vehicles that form the 48-PBS fire control system.
• 48-PBDS (포병 대대 사령차 Pobyŏng Daedae Salyŏngcha): Artillery battalion command post for the battalion commander and battalion chief of staff. Also serves as a centralized planning and control center for massed battalion fire missions. Has a crew of 7.
• 48-PHTG (포병화력 통제 관제소, Pobyŏnghwalyŏg Tongje Gwanjeso): Forward artillery control and observation post for the battery commanding officer. The 48-PHTG is capable of determining the GPS coordinates of a target, and assessing the damage inflicted by a barrage, as well as transmitting this information back to the 48-PBJS and 48-PBDS. Has a crew of 5.
• 48-PBJS (포병 중대 사령차 Pobyŏng Jungdae Salyŏngcha): Mobile command post and centralized fire control center for the artillery battery executive officer. Has a crew of 6. Collectively, the three vehicles above are known as the "48-PBS" system, and they are networked together and with the individual SPGs in their unit.

Service

The main user of the JJP-152/48 is the Menghean Army, which currently operates some 7,000 examples. Production is still ongoing at Samsan Factory 674 in the southeastern city of Daegok. In active units, the JJP-152/48 is intended to equip both divisional artillery regiments and regimental artillery battalions, though as production is still ongoing a number of divisions still use the JJP-152/27 as their regimental gun.

Since 2013, the Menghean Army has been overseeing early work on a potential successor to the JJP-152/48. In 2015, the Inmin-Chŏlgang-Nodongja Vehicle Plant obtained a JJP-152/48 chassis and modified it with the longer 56-caliber experimental 152mm gun carrying a heavier breech, forming the JJP-152/56. This system is otherwise identical to the old version, but is claimed to have a longer range and greater accuracy. Samsan's military design division is also working on an entry for the competition; their design, which has not yet matured into a working prototype, is supposed to feature a fully automated loading system, a water-cooled gun, and other improvements to accelerate response time and short-barrage rate of fire. Both designs are still under early consideration, and as of yet there are no signs that Menghean Army High Command favors one over the other, or that it will soon terminate JJP-152/48 production.

See also

• JJP-152/27