Understanding と変わらない


> 「……いずれにせよ、砲撃にあたり前進観測機が必要なのは長距離砲兵型 **と変わらない** 。今のところ砲自体も沈黙したままだ」

86─エイティシックス─ 安里アサト

Does the と変わらない mean "the same as" here? If not, how should I interpret it
more accurately?




Basically yes, the structure of the sentence is [砲撃にあたり...必要なの] は
長距離砲兵型と変わらない. So literally, _That (it) requires ... is not different from (the
same as) 長距離砲兵型_.

Another slightly different parsing would be to interpret 必要なのは as a topic
describing the aspect of difference: _in requiring .. at the time of firing,
(it) is the same as 長距離砲兵型._

In terms of translation, translating と変わらない adverbially may fit more easily,
so it is _just as_ rather than _same as_ : _(It) requires .... in firing, just
as 長距離砲兵型._

