Pakistan deploys 250 Chinese SH-15 howitzers on India border
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- Pakistan deployed 250 Chinese-made SH-15 truck-mounted self-propelled howitzers along its eastern border with India, per top intelligence sources cited by India Today, in one of Islamabad's most significant artillery reinforcements in recent years.
- The SH-15 is a 155mm/52-calibre system manufactured by Chinese state-owned NORINCO—the export version of the PLA's PCL-181—mounted on a 6x6 armoured Shaanxi truck chassis with road speeds up to 90 kmph and automated hydraulic stabilising spades.
- The howitzer fires standard NATO-compatible ammunition to 30-40 km and rocket-assisted V-LAP projectiles to 53-72 km, with an automated fire-control system enabling up to six rounds per minute and rapid 'shoot-and-scoot' relocation before counter-battery fire can respond.
- The 250-system induction is sufficient to equip multiple artillery regiments, significantly strengthening Pakistan's long-range conventional strike capability, according to defence sources.
- The deployment follows Operation Sindoor in May 2025, India's tri-services counterterrorism operation that used precision strikes against terrorist infrastructure across the LoC and inside Pakistani territory.
- Field Marshal Asim Munir, Pakistan's Chief of Defence Forces and Army Chief, described the Pakistan-China relationship as 'unique, time-tested, and steadfast' at the PLA's 99th anniversary commemoration at GHQ Rawalpindi, attended by Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong and Defence Attaché Major General Wang Zhong.
Why it matters: Pakistan is adding 250 long-range Chinese howitzers to its eastern frontier months after India's Operation Sindoor struck targets across the LoC, hardening its conventional artillery posture in a sector where both armies regularly trade fire. With rocket-assisted shells reaching 53-72 km and rapid shoot-and-scoot mobility, the deployment raises the cost of any Indian ground operation while deepening Pakistan's reliance on Chinese arms supply at the very moment Beijing is expanding regional military partnerships.
