The H/PJ-38 is a single-barreled 130mm naval gun employed by the People's Liberation Army Navy. This naval gun, which was designed in 2005, was first installed on the Type 052D destroyer.[1] [2] The H/PJ-38 is the name given to this firearm in English and Japanese literature. This weapon's official designation, according to Taiwanese military journalist Lu Yi, is H/PJ-45.
The H/PJ-38 was designed by the Norinco, through reverse engineering of the Soviet AK-130 twin 130mm naval gun. The H/PJ-38 was manufactured by the Inner Mongolia Second Machinery Manufacturing Factory.[3]
Chen Dingfeng was the general designer of the H/PJ-38. Dingfeng was also the general designer for the Type 79 100 mm naval gun, the Type 210 100 mm naval gun, and the H/PJ26 76mm naval gun. The Chinese navy was unsatisfied and did not let the AK-130 counterpart go into production, despite all performance parameters being met.[4] The Chinese Navy determined the AK-130 to be out-of-date, which led to the creation of the H/PJ38 program in 2005.[5]