The Japanese Type 99 Artillery Support Vehicle

For The Type 99 Howitzer

As a result of intense artillery duels in Ukraine, self-propelled howitzers have received increasingly high amount of attention. Along with highly mobile truck-mounted artillery systems, the importance of armored self-propelled howitzers (SPH) has been reevaluated on the battlefield.

In terms of armored SPHs, Japan has been using the Type 99 self-propelled howitzer for quite some time, mostly stationing them in Hokkaido against Russia.

To support the Type 99 SPH’s high-rate continuous firing capability, the Type 99 ammunition resupply vehicle was developed simultaneously.

• General Overview

As the name suggests, this vehicle was designed to resupply self-propelled howitzers with ammunition. However, in reality, it is a variant of the Type 73 truck, which was primarily used for towing artillery.

Consequently, the Type 99 ammunition resupply vehicle benefits from existing technology and parts, thereby reducing development costs while inheriting the high power of the Type 73 truck.

Designed specifically to support the Type 99 SPH, the vehicle can carry about 90 rounds of ammunition, and is equipped with a belt conveyor system to guarantee smooth resupply on the battlefield.

Although the Type 99 SPH features an autoloader and boasts a firing rate of six rounds per minute, it only carries around 40 rounds internally. Its ammo storage will be rapidly depleted when continuously fired, thus requiring the assistance of the Type 99 ammunition resupply vehicle during operations.

Initially, the plan was to produce around 130 units, in order to accompany the number of Type 99 self-propelled howitzers. Despite this plan, only 24 units were build due to budget constraints, resulting in having only one resupply vehicle per company rather than one per each howitzer.

Obsolete Nowadays?

Nonetheless, modern artillery warfare has made it increasingly difficult for the Type 99 ammunition resupply vehicle to operate effectively as advancements in counter-battery radars and drones have drastically changed the battlefield.

As examined in Ukraine, continuous firing from the same location carries high risks and can only be done under relatively safe conditions. Artillery positions are quickly detected nowadays, with drone attacks or counter-battery fire coming in almost instantly.

Since mobility and repositioning have become essential in modern artillery operations, it is now rare for an ammunition resupply vehicle to remain connected to a self-propelled howitzer during firing.

Instead, such vehicles have become highly vulnerable targets, prone to secondary explosions and collateral damage when hit.

Given this reality, howitzers must retreat to a relatively safe rear area for resupply. While the Type 99 ammunition resupply vehicle could still serve as an armored transport vehicle to deliver ammunition to forward positions, its role has been significantly diminished.

Furthermore, the latest Type 19 wheeled self-propelled howitzer differs from the Type 99 in that it does not engage in continuous firing from the same position and is not designed to operate with an ammunition resupply vehicle. For this reason, there is no successor to the Type 99 ammunition resupply vehicle, and the very concept of such vehicles is now being questioned.

Not Enough? Japan's Type 99 Self-Propelled Howitzer

JGSDF's Modern Howitzer As seen in the Russo-Ukrainian War, continuously firing ...

therandomjapan.com

2024.01.29