Next Generation Wheeled Combat Vehicles
China North Industries Group Corporation (NORINCO) is currently developing new generation wheeled armoured combat vehicles for both domestic and international market. A number of designs in 6X6 and 8X8 arrangement have been revealed. As well as conventional land warfare, these vehicles are also suitable for a range of unconventional operations such as low intensity conflicts, peacekeeping, urban warfare, and antiterrorism. The vehicles have been incorporated with a large amount of commercial off-the-shelf technologies to save the development costs and time.
A 6X6 wheeled armoured personnel carrier (APC) revealed by NORINCO in 2006 features a modular structure selected to give the maximum flexibility and easy maintenance. The whole vehicle is composed of six modules: powerpack module, transmission module, control module, suspension module, hull module, and weapon station module. The fully amphibious vehicle has a combat weight of 16 tonnes, and can be airlifted by aircraft such as Y-8 and C-130. The vehicle has a crew of three (commander, gunner, and driver), and its troop compartment can carry seven soldiers.
In later 2006 an unknown model of 8X8 wheeled armoured combat vehicle was also spotted undergoing road testing. The vehicle is similar to the NORINCO 6X6 wheeled APC in hull design, but has a stretched troop compartment with larger capacity. The new 8X8 wheeled vehicle is produced in a range of variants including infantry fighting vehicle 9IFV), 105mm assault gun, 122mm self-propelled howitzer, and armoured recovery vehicle (ARC).
Weapon options for these vehicles include 5.8mm or 7.62mm machine gun; 12.7mm or 14.5mm anti-aircraft machine gun (AAMG); 25 or 30mm automatic cannon, 35mm automatic grenade launcher, and Chinese indigenous HongJian (HJ) series anti-tank guided missile (ATGM).
The NORINCO 6X6 APC featured laser rangefinder, optical and low-light/image-intensified night vision for commander and gunner, and infrared search light. The commander can observe the outside view using CCD camera and a large-size colour visual unit on the commander panel. The driver has a virtual panel which displays all vehicle data and information on a computer display. The user can also choose to install a vehicle electronic information system which integrates the driver and commander computers and can be used to exchange data and information with other terminals to achieve the netcentric warfare capability.
The vehicle hull is made of high-hardness steel which can resist direct hits by 7.62mm weapon and blast of 152mm artillery shells. Additional composite armour plats can be fitted for extra protection. The underside of the vehicle is enhanced to protect its crew and passengers from the blast of a 6,000g mine detonated underbelly. The hydraulically operated engine radiator shutters can be closed to protect the vehicle from the Molotov Cocktail attack in urban operations.
Great emphasis was also put on the safety and comfort of the crew and passengers. The vehicle is equipped with collective NBC protection, air conditioning, and automatic fire suppression systems. Special inertia design has been adopted to reduce the noise heat, and vibration level inside the vehicle.
