Pakistan’s reported deployment of nearly 250 Chinese-made SH-15 wheeled self-propelled howitzers along sectors facing India is less a standalone military development than another marker of the deepening strategic convergence between Beijing and Islamabad. If accurate, the deployment reflects a broader pattern that has gathered pace over the last decade: Pakistan’s determined effort to modernise its conventional military capabilities through Chinese technology, financing, and industrial cooperation, while China increasingly treats Pakistan as both a strategic partner and a laboratory for the operational validation of its defence systems. The SH-15, the export version of China’s PCL-181 155mm/52-calibre wheeled self-propelled howitzer, represents a significant qualitative improvement in Pakistan’s artillery arm. Islamabad reportedly contracted for around 236 systems from China’s NORINCO in 2019, with deliveries beginning in 2022 and continuing into 2023. The agreement reportedly included technology transfer provisions that enable local assembly at Heavy Industries Taxila, suggesting that Pakistan’s objective extends beyond procurement to the gradual development of indigenous sustainment and production capacity. Reports indicating that approximately 250 systems have now been deployed imply that multiple artillery regiments have already been equipped.
(Harsh V. Pant – Observer Research Foundation)
Beyond the SH-15: China’s Expanding Military Footprint in Pakistan
