At the end of last 2011, photographs of new Chinese-made self-propelled anti-aircraft guns began to appear in the specialized media. The vehicles, designated as PGZ-07, appeared in several copies in the existing photos, which became the reason for the appearance of the version about the beginning of deliveries of new ZSU to the troops. China does not often make such equipment, so the new PGZ-07 attracted the attention of specialists and amateurs of military equipment around the world. The fact is that earlier the Chinese defense industry was engaged in copying and "rethinking" other people's designs, mainly Soviet ones. The new ZSU PGZ-07, in turn, resembles foreign technology only in part.
Judging by its appearance, the new anti-aircraft self-propelled gun is a development of the "Type 90-II", created about twenty years ago. This is a tracked chassis with a rotating turret mounted on it. The armament of the PGZ-07 is two automatic cannons of 35 mm caliber. The basis of the self-propelled gun is a tracked chassis, which in its appearance strongly resembles the corresponding unit of the PLZ-45 self-propelled howitzer. If this assumption is correct, then you can imagine the main characteristics of the anti-aircraft gun. According to reports, armed with a 155-mm howitzer, the self-propelled guns are equipped with a diesel engine with a capacity of 500-520 horsepower. With a combat weight of 33 tons, the self-propelled guns accelerate along the highway to 55 kilometers per hour. While driving over rough terrain, the self-propelled gun is capable of operating in the same battle formations with all available tanks. From these figures, certain conclusions can be drawn about the likely characteristics of the ZSU. The approximate layout of the new ZSU also speaks in favor of the version of borrowing the chassis from an older self-propelled artillery gun. So, from the available photographic materials, it follows that the PGZ-07 engine is located in the front right part of the armored hull. This is confirmed by the driver's workplace, shifted to the left of the vehicle axis, by the drive wheels of the caterpillar propeller in the front of the hull, as well as by the presence of a hatch in the stern sheet. The crew is landing through the latter. There is no exact information regarding the booking of the PZL-45 ACS and the PGZ-07 ZSU. Obviously, this is a homogeneous bulletproof protection, although the greater strength of the case should not be ruled out.
The armament of the anti-aircraft self-propelled gun is mounted on a rotating turret. The complex-shaped tower unit carries two cannons, apparently a development of the older 30-mm Type 90, two radar antennas, and a block of optical equipment. It is often noted that the automatic cannons of the ZSU PGZ-07 outwardly greatly resemble the Swiss-made Oerlikon guns. In the 1980s, China bought a number of 35mm towed cannons and then acquired a production license under the name Type 90. Judging by the appearance of the Type 90 cannons and PGZ-07 guns, the design of the weapon has been significantly improved.
To monitor the airspace, the ZSU PGZ-07 has a surveillance radar station. Its antenna is located at the rear of the tower; when the station is operating, it rotates around its axis. Aiming weapons at targets is carried out using a second radar, whose duty is to track the target and capture it for escort. The antenna of the second radar is located at the front of the tower and can only be rotated in the vertical plane. In general, the concept of PGZ-07 radar facilities resembles the system used on the Soviet 2K22 Tunguska anti-aircraft missile and cannon system. When creating the radio-electronic part of the Soviet air defense missile system, the goal was to ensure the search and tracking of targets by the own forces of a specific combat vehicle. The earlier Soviet ZSU-23-4 "Shilka" could only independently fire at targets and required third-party target designation. Apparently, the Chinese military and designers had the opportunity to analyze the experience of operating foreign "Shilok" and, creating their own SPAAG, made the appropriate conclusions.
In case the enemy uses electronic warfare equipment, the PGZ-07 has an optical location station equipped with a laser rangefinder. The presence of laser equipment is indicated by warning signs on the station's armored casing. The optical system is located in front of the tower, on the target tracking radar antenna unit. Thanks to this arrangement, the optical location station can swing in a vertical plane together with the antenna and, possibly, work with it. There is an opinion that the equipment has a tracking television channel.
The combat characteristics of the ZSU PGZ-07 are not reliably known. Their approximate value can be established based on the indicators of the Type 90-II anti-aircraft self-propelled gun, which was armed with a similar caliber. The rate of fire of 35 mm Type 90 cannons reached 550 rounds per minute. With an initial speed of at least 1100-1150 m / s, the projectiles could hit air targets at an oblique range of up to four kilometers. If there was a need to fire at ground targets, the Type 90-II was capable of hitting up to 12 kilometers. The arsenal of the old ZSU included two types of shells: fragmentation-incendiary and semi-armor-piercing fragmentation-incendiary.
China did not disclose data on trial test firing of PGZ-07 installations. Judging by the lack of missile weapons, the combat potential of this installation is hardly high. The available assumptions regarding the effective range of fire and the composition of the weapons suggest that the main purpose of the new anti-aircraft self-propelled gun is helicopters and other low-speed aircraft, forced to approach the attacked object at a short distance. But even in this case, the capabilities of the ZSU do not look high. At the same time, soon after the first photographs of the columns of self-propelled guns PGZ-07 appeared on the Internet, some images of an allegedly updated version of the complex appeared. In these photos, the ZSUs on the sides of the turret have attachment points for anti-aircraft missiles.
The existence of the PGZ-07 missile and cannon version has not yet been officially confirmed, as is often the case with Chinese military equipment. Moreover, the photographs themselves of self-propelled guns with missiles raise certain questions: they may turn out to be a photomontage. Finally, even if the ZRPK exists, their number is still small. All photo and video footage, where more than one self-propelled gun is captured, show exclusively purely cannon versions of the PGZ-07.
