Why is Pakistan suddenly so concerned about China's SH-15 truck guns recently? It's not easy, but there are well-thought-out strategic considerations behind it.
Modern warfare cannot be won by relying on a large number of people, and the key depends on equipment. SH-15 is a thing with long range, fast speed, and high degree of digitization, which is simply a "flash mob" on the battlefield.
It can take the enemy by surprise before he can react, and then quickly change places, so that the enemy can't find the north.
When it comes to price, it's even more of a thumbs up.
Pakistan bought this gun, and the unit price was only 2.17 million US dollars, which was cheaper than the 6.46 million US dollars that India bought South Korea's K9 self-propelled guns.
This cost performance is simply the "Pinduoduo" of the military procurement community. Moreover, the firepower and mobility of this gun are enough for Pakistan to regain that "I can do it" confidence when facing the Indian Army.
Let's talk about history.
Remember the Kargil conflict of 1999? At that time, Pakistan's artillery was shining, but the problem of the mobility of American-made tracked self-propelled guns on the plateau has always been a pain in Pakistan's heart.
The appearance of the SH-15 is like a "reassurance" for Pakistan, and the PLA has given priority to replacing this gun with high mobility, which shows how strong its plateau adaptability is.
Let's take a look at India, although they have their own MArG truck guns, the army itself has not yet purchased them on a large scale.
This begs the question, what is India waiting for? Is it waiting for an upgraded version of the SH-15?
But to be honest, although India's domestic artillery has been successfully exported to Armenia, its own army has not used it much, which is indeed a bit confusing.
Moreover, the actual combat performance of the SH-15 is also obvious to all.
On the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield, the survivability of wheeled self-propelled guns has been verified, and the loss rate of the "Caesar" self-propelled guns in France is much lower than that of the American M777 towed howitzers.
This is enough to prove that the choice of the SH-15 was based on the deep consideration of real combat needs and survivability.
Speaking of which, you may think that Pakistan is trying to compete with India with whose cannon is louder?
In fact, there are deeper strategic considerations behind this.
Although Pakistan is not financially well-off, they are not ambiguous when it comes to national security. Through the purchase of SH-15, Pakistan has not only improved its own military strength, but also eased the pressure of military competition with India to a certain extent.
In addition, the large-scale installation of the SH-15 not only replaced the towed artillery with poor mobility, but also replaced some of the tracked self-propelled guns of the aging Longzhong, which to a certain extent alleviated the pressure on the Pakistan Army's equipment update.
This is like a "shot in the arm" for the Pakistan Army, allowing them to regain their superiority in equipment in the face of the Indian Army, which has been replaced with K9 self-propelled guns.
Moreover, the operation and maintenance of the SH-15 is also simpler and more convenient than that of tracked self-propelled guns.
It's like relieving the Pakistan Army's logistics department of a big burden, allowing them to devote more energy to training and operational readiness.
This is not only important for highland mountain mobility, but also for Pakistan's poor domestic infrastructure.
In general, Pakistan's procurement of SH-15 truck guns is not a simple matter, but there are well-thought-out strategic considerations behind it.
This is not just a business, but also a strategic layout. In this game, Pakistan is clearly ahead of the curve.