In 2019, Pakistan ordered 236 of these SH-15 units. These carry the standard 155mm/52 calibre configuration. At its simplest, 155 mm is the diameter of the barrel, and 52-calibre is a ratio that denotes the length of the gun barrel. It means the barrel is 52 times longer than its internal bore diameter (155 mm), resulting in a barrel roughly 8.06 meters long. A longer barrel allows burning propellant gas (gunpowder) to push the artillery shell farther, resulting in more pressure and more muzzle velocity that increases range.
If either the diameter of the barrel (105 mm or 130 mm) or the calibre is lower (at 30 or 45) or higher than 52, it would impact the range of the gun sub-optimally.Deliveries for SH-15 to Pakistan began in 2022. Latest reports say Pakistan plans to acquire more than 500 SH-15 howitzers, and over 200 have already been inducted into its army. That is enough to equip around 12 artillery regiments, with 18 guns in each regiment. While in isolation, there is little need to over-read into the acquisition per se, but other dimensions need to be analysed simultaneously. First, SH-15 could be another Chinese piece of equipment given to the Pakistanis that isn’t a dumbed-down export variant, but the one closer to what China fields. The same gun is called PCL-181 in China. Second, Pakistan has also received technology transfer (ToT) from Beijing, allowing it to assemble—and possibly manufacture—the SH-15 locally at Heavy Industries Taxila. In that sense, Islamabad has not only got its hands on a big gun but also the capacity to maintain, replenish and progressively localise it. Does that make it a game-changer? Not really. However, the recent discussions in Indian circles have been about the country’s lack of a mounted gun despite domestic manufacturing capabilities. Different dimensions—range, firepower, mobility, whether to import or to indigenise, how to integrate firepower at large and artillery, drone lessons from ongoing wars—need to be placed coherently in the larger picture.
