Ethiopian armed forces have shown in official photos how they convert Chinese WZ551 wheeled armored personnel carriers into improvised self-propelled guns armed with Soviet D-30 122mm howitzers.
The photo features at least four vehicles modified this way, and the D-30s are installed in a manner that allows the crew howitzers to operate while standing inside the landing compartment of the armored carrier, with an armor screen protecting from the front, the Janes website notes.
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At first glance, it seems like another ordinary forced solution attempted by Ethiopia to cut down expenses on self-propelled artillery by customizing it.
However, things start to get interesting if we remember that the same Ethiopia in April 2023 received at least 32 SH-15 155 mm wheeled self-propelled guns from China, artillery systems known for compatibility with the GP1 guided projectile, Chinese copy of russian Krasnopol.
In other words, it's not due to a dire shortage of artillery that the Ethiopian army resorted to these modifications but rather an experiment if they can make the old Soviet guns mobile by using the available resources. Scaling up this experiment is unlikely, though, because the Ethiopian armed forces only have a small number of WZ551 vehicles available, they were all purchased in the early 2010s.
Besides, speaking of Ethiopia, this country is actually quite famous for various interesting improvisations with self-propelled installations based on the D-30 gun.
For example, there are photos in the public domain of improvised tracked artillery systems made out of T-55 tank chassis and D-30, which (as claimed) belonged to the Ethiopian army. It also used to operate the M1977, a North Korean SPG made of a D-30 mounted on an M1973 (VT-323) armored carrier.
Earlier in our articles, Defense Express highlighted Ethiopia as an important target market, particularly for the russian federation. It was Ethiopia who bought the problematic Su-30K fighters initially earmarked for India, after russia had spent 15 years looking for a buyer. It also made deals with russia on the supply of Krasukha-4 electronic warfare systems and maintenance for 2S19 Msta-S self-propelled guns.
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