NORINCO ZBD-04 (WZ502)

History

Introduced in 2006, the ZBD-97 is an infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) of Chinese origin. The influence of the Soviet BMP-3 IFV can be clearly seen in the Chinese design due to the once close ties between the Soviet Union (Russia) and China.

At its core, the ZBD-97 remains an all-terrain armoured amphibious vehicle with tracked handling, a low profile and turret-mounted weapons. Design work began in the 1990s and production began in the early 2000s.

Infantry fighting vehicles, as a classification of military vehicles, differ from traditional armoured personnel carriers (APCs) in that they are not only required to bring combat-ready infantry into battle, but also communicate with them through the equipment provided Fight side by side to support fire. The ZBD-97 was designed with this in mind, with interior passenger seating for seven to accompany the standard three-person crew. The task force consisted of the driver, commander and gunner.

The driver is seated in the front left, the commander and gunner are in the hull/turret area. The power pack is mounted on the right front, freeing the rear of the fuselage for the turret crew and passenger seats. A hatch in the top of the fuselage allows passengers to engage enemy infantry if necessary. General access is through hinged doors mounted on the rear of the hull.

The ZBD-97 has standard protection (for this type of vehicle) with welded steel armor and a very flat, almost vertical forward sloping plate. Turrets are also faceted for basic ballistic protection. Since the BMP-3 is the basis for the ZBD-97, it can be assumed that the maximum frontal armor thickness is about 35 mm. An NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) kit and night vision goggles for the crew and vehicle are expected to be standard.

The vehicle has six electrically activated smoke grenade launchers for making screens. Two rows of three launchers were located on either side of the turret.

The primary weapon of the ZBD-97 is a 1 x 100mm main gun, which is also certified to fire certain Soviet/Russian/Chinese Anti-Tank Missiles (ATGM). The 100mm weapon provides the vehicle with enough firepower to fight light armoured vehicles and other armoured personnel carriers - although not as much compared to modern main battle tanks (MBTs). An on-board integrated ballistic computer facilitates aiming and firing while driving.

Combined with this was a 30mm automatic cannon, which was located next to the main gun mount, allowing the crew to engage soft-skinned targets when the 100mm automatic cannon was deemed too powerful. Infantry defense is performed by a 7.62mm machine gun.

This weapon is comparable to the Soviet/Russian BMP-3 series.

The ZBD-97 is a 20-ton vehicle powered by a diesel engine. This gives the armored personnel carrier a range of 500 kilometers and road speeds of up to 65 kilometers per hour. The speed when wading through the water source is reduced to 20 kilometers per hour.

The hull is mounted on torsion bar suspension for some comfort when driving off-road.

The ZBD-97 is also considered a Type 97 infantry fighting vehicle. Other notable variants are the upgraded ZBD-04 series and the highly armored ZBD-08 (with Explosive Reactive Armor (ERA) blocks).

The Chinese Army is believed to maintain hundreds of ZBD-related armored vehicles for its vast ground forces.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

Armor

40 x 100mm bullet

4 to 8 x Anti-Tank Missiles (ATGM)

500 x 30mm bullet

2,000 x 7.62mm ammo

6 x Smoke Grenade

Changes