Four years ago
China revealed an assault gun version of its ZBL 09 8x8 wheeled armored
vehicle. This version has a small turret containing a 105mm gun, for
providing direct fire support for troops. There was already an artillery
version, carrying a 122mm howitzer in a larger turret. There are
several other versions, and apparently more on the way.
The Chinese Army has been recently referring to this vehicle
as a wheeled light tank. It’s unclear if this means a new doctrine about
how the ZBL 09/105mm is to be used, or if the vehicle remains assigned
to infantry support work with some extra training for shooting up other
armored vehicles. The 105mm gun carried is not powerful enough to
destroy most modern tanks, but could knock out most other armored
vehicles.
The basic ZBL 09 is a 21 ton vehicle that has a crew of three
and carries seven passengers. The vehicle is 8 meters (25 feet) long,
three meters (9.2 feet) wide and 2.1 meters (6.5 feet, to the hull roof)
high. It's amphibious, and has a top water speed of 8 kilometers an
hour. On roads, top speed is 100 kilometers an hour, and max road range
on internal fuel is 800 kilometers. The infantry carrier version has a
turret with a 30mm autocannon. There are also artillery versions
carrying either a 105mm or 122mm howitzer.
The ZBL 09 entered service in 2009, and some combat brigades
are being equipped with it, to operate somewhat like the American
Stryker brigades. China has been developing new wheeled armored vehicles
for over a decade. Until recently, these were all based on Russian
designs. The ZBL 09, however, borrows more ideas from the West. Still,
some of the more recent (five years ago) Russian type designs were
interesting, and instructive.
Back then, for example, the 18 ton, 6x6 WMZ551A model was
given a new turret. The vehicle has a crew of three and can carry nine
more troops. Using technology and weapons obtained from Ukraine, the new
vehicle has a 30mm autocannon, instead of 25mm. More importantly, the
new turret has an improved fire control system (containing a laser range
finder, and a vidcam that shows the vehicle commander what the gunner
sees.) This is apparently related to earlier Chinese efforts to upgrade
its BMP1 tracked infantry fighting vehicles, with BMP3 turrets from
Russia. These also have the 30mm cannon. The main problem with all these
upgrades was money. The government wanted Chinese-made weapons to be
used, as they are cheaper, and supply is more assured. But the Chinese
manufacturers didn't want to move up to the 30mm autocannon design just
yet. Many Chinese generals believed that the Chinese 25mm autocannon was
sufficient. All that has changed.
There was always agreement that an improved fire control
system was a good thing. But there was not much space available inside a
BMP. Some export models of the BMP3, when equipped with a thermal
imager, had to mount some of that gear on the outside of the vehicle.
There was also agreement that wheeled armored vehicles for the infantry
might be a better investment.
The Chinese have been observing NATO success in Iraq with the
Stryker and LAV wheeled combat vehicles. Chinese designers eventually
concluded that the roomier internal layout of Western vehicles did serve
a useful purpose, and the ZBL 09, and all the electronics installed in
it, are an example of what the Chinese learned.
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