In 1980s, Chinese military manufacturer
Norinco acquired the license to produce GHN-45 howitzer from
Noricum, a subsidiary of the Austrian company
Voest-Alpine, who developed GHN-45 based on the design of the
GC-45 howitzer. GHN-45 (Gun, Howitzer, Noricum) featured several improvements over the original GC-45, such as better ammunition and fire control systems. Due to the design improvements, GHN-45 had considerably longer ranges than other 155 mm cannon systems used by
NATO and Western countries. This capability initially caused worry for allied forces in the
Persian Gulf War. The designer
Gerald Bull was contacted in late 1980s by China to develop his work, which he agreed. China also purchased extended-range ammunition technology from him. The Chinese production designation of the GHN-45 is WAC-021 and
PLL-01, which entered service in 1987. China continue to acquire and develop other technologies for the PLL-01, such as precision guided projectiles GP1. China also mounted the PLL-01 onto an indigenous-designed tracked chassis, resulting in the
PLZ-45 (also known as the Type 88) and support vehicles based on the same chassis. Two major batches of PLZ-45s were sold to the Kuwaiti in 1997 and to Saudi Arabia in 2008. However, the PLZ-45 did not enter service with the
People's Liberation Army Ground Force because China was still using the doctrine developed for the Soviet-standard 152 mm ammunition at the time. In 2003, China began to develop prototypes of the PLZ-05, an evolution of the PLZ-45, for domestic use. The PLZ-05 was adopted by Chinese army in 2008 in order to replace the older
Type 83 152 mm self-propelled howitzer. The adoption of PLZ-05 signified China's paradigm shift in artillery doctrines, moving from the Soviet model to Western model. The original PLZ-45 was fitted with 155 mm/L45 howitzer, but PLZ-05 has a longer barrel and improved range, accuracy and fire rate. ==Design==