Vietnam Military Technical Institute unveils PTH130-K225B 130mm SPG

VietDefense echoed the progress made by the Vietnamese army in getting a larger caliber self-propelled artillery system than what it was operating. This results now in the PTH130-K225B 130mm SPG developed by the Military Technical Institute.

As recalled by VietDefense, the intention to create the PTH130-K225B can be traced back to 2017 after it was announced that plans would be made to do so following the successful trials of the PTH105 (a Vietnam-war-era American 105mm howitzers on the chassis of a Ural).

The Vietnamese self-propelled gun strongly resembles Cuba’s Jupiter V SPG and is implied to be based upon it due to technology transfer from Cuban-Vietnamese military cooperation. Both use the older Soviet M46 130mm towed field gun as their main weapon.

Other militaries in Southeast Asia have opted to supplement or completely replace their towed artillery with SPGs. The People’s Army of Vietnam will become able to follow the move.

The Jupiter IV is a Cuban combination of a Soviet M1931/37 (also known as A-19) 122 mm field gun, mounted on a heavily modified KrAZ 255B 6×6 truck chassis. The vehicle is powered by a YaMZ-238 turbocharged diesel engine, developing 240 hp. It is mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox. This artillery system was first publicly revealed in 2006. This low-cost upgrade improved the capabilities of an aging field gun. Such developments are typical for countries with limited military funding.