China-India border dispute: PLA carries out live-fire artillery drills in the Himalayas
- PLA puts its vehicle-mounted howitzer and HJ-10 anti-tank missiles through their paces as Beijing and New Delhi maintain an uneasy peace
- Smaller, lighter versions of existing military hardware better suited to mountainous terrain, state broadcaster says
The live-fire exercises, involving the new 122mm (five-inch) vehicle-mounted howitzer and a vehicle-mounted version of the HJ-10 anti-tank missile, were carried out by the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Tibet Military Region at the end of last month, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Tuesday.
The drills, conducted at an altitude of about 4,600 metres (15,000 feet), came after similar exercises in the region involving the PLA’s PCL-181 155mm “truck gun” and the original version of the HJ-10, which is mounted on tracked vehicles.
In video footage of the exercises, the new, smaller calibre howitzer – the name of which has not been revealed – appeared to use the same technology and had a similar appearance, except for its shorter barrel, to the 155m version of the gun. It was also mounted on a four-wheeled, rather than six-wheeled truck.
The truck-mounted HJ-10 was also a trimmed down version of the original, featuring a twin launcher rather than a quadruple launcher.
The modifications to the artillery appeared to have been carried out to reduce their weight and length to enhance manoeuvrability in rugged terrain. Smaller versions are also easier to transport by air, making them better suited to rapid deployment, the CCTV report said.
Howitzers are favoured in mountainous terrain because of their ability to propel projectiles over high trajectories. The HJ-10 is capable of destroying armoured ground targets at a distance of up to 10km (six miles), as well as small boats and low-speed aircraft, like helicopters.
India is reported to have been planning to deploy a fleet of small patrol boats on a section of the 134km (83-mile) long Pangong Lake, which has been the scene for several troop clashes in recent years.
The PLA exercises came as China and India remained locked in their worst stand-off in the region for decades, though troops from both sides have disengaged from the major hotspots along the disputed border.
