The Algerian military confirmed on 22 May that it has taken delivery of
Chinese-made 155 mm PLZ45 self-propelled howitzers when it released imagery
showing them being used during an exercise.
A photograph and video of six PLZ45s firing were released during a visit by
chief-of staff Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaid Salah to the Fourth Military
Region. The Ministry of National Defence (MDN) said that Lt Gen Salah
oversaw a tactical exercise that included units from the 41st Armoured
Brigade in the In Amenas area close to the Libyan border.
Photographs of covered PLZ howitzers being transported in Algeria emerged in
January 2014. It was unclear from the photographs whether they were PLZ45s
or longer-barrel PLZ52s.
Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have previously acquired PLZ45s, but there are no
known foreign users of the PLZ52.
