China has reinforced artillery firepower facing the Taiwan Strait, deploying additional 155mm PLZ-05 self-propelled howitzers to replace older equipment. State broadcaster CCTV reported Sunday that a combined-arms brigade under the People's Liberation Army's 71st Group Army received a batch of the howitzers over the past two months. The deployment phased out the brigade's previous 122mm artillery, an older and less capable system.
The brigade conducted its first live-fire test with the new howitzers following the deployment. The 71st Group Army belongs to the Eastern Theatre Command, which holds primary responsibility for military operations facing Taiwan, the East China Sea, and Japan.
This deployment marks the first time the PLZ-05 has been assigned specifically at the brigade level. The system was originally fielded at the group-army level, where it operated as a long-range suppression weapon rather than equipment directly integrated into brigade formations. Moving the system down to the brigade level represents a structural shift in how the PLA organizes its heavy artillery assets.
Brigade officer Sun Xialong said receiving 155mm self-propelled howitzers for the first time significantly improved the unit's overall combat effectiveness. That framing suggests the PLZ-05's move down to brigade level reflects a deliberate effort to streamline artillery firepower closer to frontline combat units.
The howitzers arrived painted in brown desert camouflage. The tracked vehicles appear to have been relocated from the Western Theatre Command, rather than built as new equipment specifically for the 71st Group Army. In their place, the Western Theatre Command has instead received lighter, wheeled PCL-181 155mm self-propelled howitzers. That design is better suited to the plateau and mountainous terrain that command typically operates across.
That swap suggests Beijing is deliberately matching different howitzer designs to the specific terrain and operational demands each theatre command faces. It's a different approach than distributing identical equipment uniformly across the PLA's various regional forces.