Difference between revisions of "QN506"

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The '''QN506''', officially nicknamed the "New King of Land Warfare" (新陆战之王) during the 2018 Zhuhai Airshow, is a defense product based on the [[ZTZ59 (Family)|ZTZ59]]'s chassis with a new 30 mm turret system and missile systems, as well as sporting the latest TVD cameras for the crews of the vehicle. Marketed as a competitor for the Russian BMPT and aimed for urban battles/counter-guerrilla operations, the vehicle has yet to secure orders from overseas customers.
 
The '''QN506''', officially nicknamed the "New King of Land Warfare" (新陆战之王) during the 2018 Zhuhai Airshow, is a defense product based on the [[ZTZ59 (Family)|ZTZ59]]'s chassis with a new 30 mm turret system and missile systems, as well as sporting the latest TVD cameras for the crews of the vehicle. Marketed as a competitor for the Russian BMPT and aimed for urban battles/counter-guerrilla operations, the vehicle has yet to secure orders from overseas customers.
  
−
Introduced during [[Update "Sky Guardians"]] as one of the main rewards for the [[wt:en/news/8186-event-repair-factory-en|"Repair Factory" event]], the QN506 is the first to introduce fire-and-forget missiles for ground vehicles. While the protection and mobility are mostly identical to the ZTZ59 which its chassis is based on, the 24 guided munitions and 30 mm cannon can certainly make both aerial and ground targets have a very bad day.
+
Introduced during [[Update "Sky Guardians"]] as one of the main rewards for the [[wt:en/news/8186-event-repair-factory-en|"Repair Factory" event]], the QN506 was the first ground vehicle to introduce fire-and-forget missiles to ground battles. While the protection and mobility of the QN506 are mostly identical to the ZTZ59 which its chassis is based on, the 24 guided munitions and 30 mm cannon can certainly make both aerial and ground targets have a very bad day.
  
 
== General info ==
 
== General info ==
Line 15: Line 15:
 
{{Specs-Tank-Armour}}
 
{{Specs-Tank-Armour}}
 
<!-- ''Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpful for survival in combat? If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.'' -->
 
<!-- ''Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpful for survival in combat? If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.'' -->
−
The QN506 is based on the chassis of the [[ZTZ59 (Family)|ZTZ59]] with additional ERA and rubber side skirts. To fit the new combat compartment, the QN506 has a heightened compartment with additional 30 mm plates, as well as sporting a ZPT99G turret in the center of the hull. Unlike what most players would have expected, the combat compartment is isolated from the crew compartment (that is, the turret is unmanned), so any shots on the turret will very likely disable the guns or the turret system altogether but the crew is very likely left unharmed. Since they are now placed at the front in a tandem configuration (with the driver slightly offset from the remaining crew), any shots for the centre mass will likely knock the vehicle out right away.
+
The QN506 is based on the chassis of the [[ZTZ59 (Family)|ZTZ59]] with additional ERA and rubber side skirts. To fit the new combat compartment, the QN506 has a heightened compartment with additional 30 mm plates, as well as sporting the ZPT99G turret in the centre of the hull. Contrary to what some may think, the combat compartment is completely isolated from the crew compartment (that is, the turret is unmanned), so while any shots to the turret will very likely disable the gun or the turret traverse, the crew is very likely to be left unharmed. As the crew is placed near the front of the tank in a tandem configuration (with the driver slightly offset from the other crew members), any centre mass shots will likely knock the vehicle out in one go.
  
−
The flat frontal plate with the fragile unmanned turrent is a huge weak spot that can get penetrated by autocannons and disable QN506 to fight back. The ERAs on the upper glacis could help QN506 survive few shots from HEATFS, yet it's still far from capable to stop any tandem ATGM or large-calibre APFSDS around its BR killing the crew. The ATGM launchers mounted on each side of its unmanned turret are vulnerable to overpressure damage. Sometimes, a dozen of rounds from autocannon could detonate those launchers and knock out the whole crew.
+
The flat frontal plate and the fragile unmanned turret are huge weak spots that can be penetrated by autocannons and disable the QN506's ability to fight back. The ERA on the upper glacis could potentially help the QN506 survive a few shots from HEATFS or early ATGMs, but should not be relied on for any protection seeing as the QN506 can face high-powered APFSDS rounds that can go through the front plate without issue, as well as tandem-warhead ATGMs. The ATGM launchers mounted on each side of the QN506's unmanned turret are vulnerable to overpressure damage; Sometimes, even just a few rounds from an autocannon can detonate the launchers or ignite the ammo belts, either burning your crew alive or causing a catastrophic ammunition detonation (and subsequent loss of the vehicle. While some fires of this nature can be survived, it is better to temper your expectations if your ammunition does burst into flames at any point. Even if the fire goes out without issue, it may also burn through your ammunition (literally), so going to a nearby capture point to refill your lost ATGM/30 mm cannon ammo may be a good idea.
  
 
'''Armour type:'''
 
'''Armour type:'''
  
−
* Rolled homogeneous armour (hull, turret)
+
* Rolled homogeneous armour (hull, turret, underbody)
 
* High hardness rolled armour (additional armour plates, missile racks)
 
* High hardness rolled armour (additional armour plates, missile racks)
 
* ERA (hull front)
 
* ERA (hull front)
 
* Rubber-fabric screens (side skirts)
 
* Rubber-fabric screens (side skirts)
 +
* Structural steel (slat armour)
  
 
{| class="wikitable"
 
{| class="wikitable"
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! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
 
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
 
|-
 
|-
−
| Hull || 30 + 10 mm (29°) ''Top'' <br> 100 mm (60°) ''Upper glacis'' <br> 100 mm (48-61°) ''Lower glacis''
+
| Hull || 30 + 10 mm (29°) ''Top'' <br> 100 mm (60°) ''Upper glacis'' <br> 100 + 15 mm (48-61°) ''Lower glacis''
 
| 30 mm ''Top'' <br> 80 mm ''Bottom'' || 30 mm ''Top'' <br> 45 mm ''Bottom''
 
| 30 mm ''Top'' <br> 80 mm ''Bottom'' || 30 mm ''Top'' <br> 45 mm ''Bottom''
 
| 30 mm ''Front'' <br> 20 mm ''Rear''
 
| 30 mm ''Front'' <br> 20 mm ''Rear''
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|}
 
|}
  
−
'''Notes:''' <!-- Any additional notes which the user needs to be aware of -->
+
{| class="wikitable"
−
<!-- Example: * Suspension wheels are 20 mm thick, tracks are 30 mm thick, and torsion bars are 60 mm thick. -->
+
! Explosive reactive armour !! Front (Slope angle)
 +
|-
 +
| Hull ||'''Upper glacis(62°, 66°):''' <br>120 mm ''Kinetic''/ 370 mm ''Chemical''
 +
|-
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
'''Notes:'''
 +
 
 +
* Suspension wheels are 10 mm thick, and tracks are 15 mm thick.
 +
* Side skirts are 5 mm thick, and the underbody is 20 mm thick.
 +
* Additional armour plates are 10 mm thick.
 +
* There is a 30 mm internal RHA screen separating the crew compartment from the middle of the hull.
 +
* The middle of the lower glacis (about 1/3) is covered by an attached track, adding an additional 15 mm of armour.
  
 
=== Mobility ===
 
=== Mobility ===
 
{{Specs-Tank-Mobility}}
 
{{Specs-Tank-Mobility}}
 
<!-- ''Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and manoeuvrability, as well as the maximum speed forwards and backwards.'' -->
 
<!-- ''Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and manoeuvrability, as well as the maximum speed forwards and backwards.'' -->
−
The QN506 retains the 12V150L engine identical to the [[ZTZ59 (Family)|ZTZ59]]s; most tanks at its rank have at least 800 hp which also means QN506 will not be the first one to reach the frontline and makes it challenging to flank enemies effectively.
+
The QN506 retains the 12V150L engine identical to the [[ZTZ59 (Family)|ZTZ59]]s; most tanks at its rank have at least 800 hp which also means that the QN506 will not be the first one to reach the frontlines. This also may make it more challenging to flank enemies effectively, as other light tanks around its BR such as the [[Type 16 (Family)|Type 16s]] and [[Centauro (Family)|Centauros]] will outpace your vehicle due to their high HP/t and wheeled design. The reverse gear of -7 km/h is suboptimal but workable, and the neutral steering speed is around average taking into account the lack of neutral steering and that other contemporaries like the Type 16/Centauros as well as the M1128 and PTL02/WMA301 have much wider, slower turning circles due to being wheeled). Overall, the hull will get you to where you need to go without too much issue, although the QN won't be winning any medals for speed.  
  
 
{{tankMobility|abMinHp=806|rbMinHp=460}}
 
{{tankMobility|abMinHp=806|rbMinHp=460}}
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{{main|ZPZ02 (30 mm)}}
 
{{main|ZPZ02 (30 mm)}}
  
−
China introduced the 2A72 alongside the turret of the BMP-3 in 1993, and reverse-engineering was completed by the late 1990s. The standalone gun was named ZPZ02 while the lightweight turret housing this gun is named ZPT99 instead, a special case among PLA naming conventions. Unlike its Russian counterpart, NORINCO developed APFSDS for the gun, giving more options and better odds of penetrating enemy targets.
+
China introduced the 2A72 alongside the turret of the BMP-3 in 1993, and reverse-engineering of the gun was completed by the late 1990s. The standalone gun was named ZPZ02 while the lightweight turret housing this gun was named ZPT99 instead, an anomaly in the PLA's naming conventions. Unlike its Russian counterpart at the time, NORINCO developed APFSDS for the gun, giving more options and better odds of penetrating enemy targets.
  
−
The QN506 can only bring 2 belts of ammo in total into the battle. Each belt contains 100 rounds, and the ammo type of those two must be different (except the default one). These features force players to conserve their ammo and use it wisely.
+
The QN506 can only bring 2 belts of ammo in total into the battle. Each belt contains 100 rounds, and the ammo type of those two must be different (except the default one). This feature forces players to conserve their fairly limited ammo (especially when compared to contemporaries such as the [[BMP-2]] and [[BMP-2M]]) and use it wisely.  
  
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
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|-
 
|-
 
! ''Arcade''
 
! ''Arcade''
−
| rowspan="2" | 200 (100) || rowspan="2" | 330 || rowspan="2" | -5°/+52° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | Two-plane || __._ || __._ || __._ || __._ || __._ || rowspan="2" | _.__ || rowspan="2" | _.__ || rowspan="2" | _.__ || rowspan="2" | _.__
+
| rowspan="2" | 200 (100) || rowspan="2" | 330 || rowspan="2" | -5°/+52° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | Two-plane || 38.1 || 52.7 || 64.0 || 70.8 || 75.3 || rowspan="2" | 1.30 || rowspan="2" | 1.15 || rowspan="2" | 1.06 || rowspan="2" | 1.00
 
|-
 
|-
 
! ''Realistic''
 
! ''Realistic''
−
| __._ || __._ || __._ || __._ || __._
+
| 23.8|| 28.0 || 32.8 || 37.1 || 40.0
 
|-
 
|-
 
|}
 
|}
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==== Ammunition ====
 
==== Ammunition ====
  
−
* '''Default:''' {{Annotation|APDS|Armour-piercing discarding sabot}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEF-I*|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary (self-destroying)}}{{-}}{{Annotation|APDS|Armour-piercing discarding sabot}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEF-I*|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary (self-destroying)}} - You may bring 2 belts of this ammo, unlike the others. Unfortunately, half the rounds in this belt are pretty useless against both tanks and planes, while the 30 mm HEF-I doesn't have proximity fuze. It is suggested to research other more useful ammo as soon as possible.
+
* '''Default:''' {{Annotation|APDS|Armour-piercing discarding sabot}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEF-I*|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary (self-destroying)}}{{-}}{{Annotation|APDS|Armour-piercing discarding sabot}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEF-I*|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary (self-destroying)}} - You may bring 2 belts of this ammo, unlike the others. Unfortunately, half the rounds in this belt lack effectiveness against both tanks and planes (against enemy tanks the HE rounds will do almost no damage, while against enemy aircraft the AP shells may often overpenetrate and do lackluster damage), while the 30 mm HEF-I doesn't have proximity fuse. It is suggested to research other more useful ammo as soon as possible.
  
−
* '''30 mm HE:''' {{Annotation|HEF-I*|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary (self-destroying)}}{{-}}{{Annotation|APDS|Armour-piercing discarding sabot}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEF-I*|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary (self-destroying)}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEF-I*|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary (self-destroying)}} - This ammo type focuses on AA role as it contains more HEF-I compared to the default one. However, the absence of proximity fuze and relatively low amount of projectile density decrease its performance.
+
* '''30 mm HE:''' {{Annotation|HEF-I*|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary (self-destroying)}}{{-}}{{Annotation|APDS|Armour-piercing discarding sabot}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEF-I*|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary (self-destroying)}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEF-I*|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary (self-destroying)}} - This ammo type focuses on AA role as it contains more HEF-I compared to the default one. However, the absence of a proximity fuse and the relatively low amount of burst mass hurts its effectiveness a fair bit.
  
−
* '''30 mm APDS:''' {{Annotation|APDS|Armour-piercing discarding sabot}}{{-}}{{Annotation|APDS|Armour-piercing discarding sabot}}{{-}}{{Annotation|APDS|Armour-piercing discarding sabot}}{{-}}{{Annotation|APDS|Armour-piercing discarding sabot}} - This one is a full APDS belt which may do decent damage against lightly-armoured vehicles. However, its performance dramatically decreases by sloped armour and the enemy's angling tactic. Hence, you have to aim at the flat side of the enemy MBTs or it won't do much damage.
+
* '''30 mm APDS:''' {{Annotation|APDS|Armour-piercing discarding sabot}}{{-}}{{Annotation|APDS|Armour-piercing discarding sabot}}{{-}}{{Annotation|APDS|Armour-piercing discarding sabot}}{{-}}{{Annotation|APDS|Armour-piercing discarding sabot}} - This one is a full APDS belt which can do decent damage against lightly-armoured vehicles. However, its performance dramatically decreases against sloped armour, meaning you will most likely need to be side-on against enemy MBTs to do any consistent damage. It is, however, the belt of choice up until you get the 30 mm APDS-FS belt as your primary anti-tank ammunition, and can dispatch enemy light vehicles and some enemy aircraft with moderate effectiveness.
  
−
* '''30 mm APDS-FS:''' {{Annotation|APFSDS|Armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot}}{{-}}{{Annotation|APFSDS|Armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot}}{{-}}{{Annotation|APFSDS|Armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot}} - This one is a full APFSDS belt with the best performance of penetration. This belt has around 100 mm of penetration at point blank and can go through the side armour of most vehicles it may confront. Note that most MBTs around this BR still have sufficient thickness of lower glacis armour to stop the rounds. Aim at the breech and barrel of enemy MBTs when you can't catch their sides.
+
* '''30 mm APDS-FS:''' {{Annotation|APFSDS|Armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot}}{{-}}{{Annotation|APFSDS|Armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot}}{{-}}{{Annotation|APFSDS|Armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot}} - This belt is a full APFSDS belt with the best performance in terms of penetration. This belt has around 100 mm of penetration at point blank and can go through the side armour of most vehicles it sees, MBTs included. Note that most MBTs around this BR have a sufficiently thick lower glacis to stop the rounds if engaging from the front (with some exceptions, as tanks like the [[Type 74 (Family)|Type 74s]] can be fairly easily penetrated from almost any angle), and you may have to try and shoot out either the enemy's barrel or gun breech to disable them before flanking around for the final blow.
  
 
{{:ZPZ02 (30 mm)/Ammunition|HEF-I*, APDS, APFSDS}}
 
{{:ZPZ02 (30 mm)/Ammunition|HEF-I*, APDS, APFSDS}}
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! 1st<br>rack empty
 
! 1st<br>rack empty
 
! 2nd<br>rack empty
 
! 2nd<br>rack empty
−
! 3rd<br>rack empty
 
−
! 4th<br>rack empty
 
−
! 5th<br>rack empty
 
−
! 6th<br>rack empty
 
 
! Visual<br>discrepancy
 
! Visual<br>discrepancy
 
|-
 
|-
−
| '''2''' || __&nbsp;''(+__)'' || __&nbsp;''(+__)'' || __&nbsp;''(+__)'' || __&nbsp;''(+__)'' || __&nbsp;''(+__)'' || __&nbsp;''(+__)'' || __
+
| '''2''' || 1&nbsp;''(+1)'' || 0&nbsp;''(+2)'' || No
 
|-
 
|-
 
|}
 
|}
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{{main|QN201DD}}
 
{{main|QN201DD}}
  
−
The 20 smaller tubes on the launcher are laser-guided QN201DD missiles. This armament is considered the secondary gun of the QN506. Marketed as an "multipurpose economical missile" by Guide Infrared, it might not have the penetration to handle MBTs at its rank with ERA or composite armour, but 20 of them are more than enough to take out light vehicles straight away or MBTs from the sides or sometimes the lower glacis. Awkwardly, the QN201DD can be disrupted by IRCM, so you might have to destroy enemy IRCM with autocannon before launching QN201DDs.
+
The 20 smaller tubes on the launcher are laser-guided QN201DD missiles. This armament is considered the secondary gun of the QN506. Marketed as a "multipurpose economical missile" by Guide Infrared, while they might lack the penetration to handle MBTs frontally at its rank with ERA or composite armour, 20 of them are more than enough to take out both light tanks and MBTs from the sides or sometimes the lower glacis. Unfortunately, the QN201DD can be disrupted by IRCM due to its guidance being semi-automatic, so you may have to destroy the enemy's IRCM with your autocannon before launching your QN201DDs. The missiles are often best used as a finisher after disabling a vehicle (usually an enemy light tank or SPAA) with a missile to overpressure or directly knock out their crew.  
  
−
Besides of anti-tank role, this ATGM is also capable to do a temporary job as a surface-to-air missile. It has a 4 km of effective firing range and 450 m/s of peak speed. Unlike SACLOS missiles, the QN201DD has an acceptable turning rate and flies very stably. With the tracking radar and proper guidance, it may get a direct hit on careless helicopters and jets. Still, it's not an orthodox SAM which usually has a proximity fuze or decent maximum overload. You cannot guide multiple QN201DDs at once or launch it on the move, either.
+
Besides the anti-tank role, this ATGM is also capable of acting as a makeshift surface-to-air missile. It has 4 km of effective firing range and top out at a fairly high velocity of 450 m/s. Unlike most lower-BR SACLOS missiles, the QN201DD has an acceptable turning rate and flies very stably. With the tracking radar and proper guidance, it may get a direct hit on careless helicopters and jets. Still, at the end of the day this is a missile meant for anti-tank, not anti-aircraft, and against players who are manoeuvring or trying to actively dodge your missiles landing a direct hit can be challenging due to the fairly low maximum G loading of the missile and the lack of a proximity fuse. You cannot guide multiple QN201DDs at once or launch them on the move, which do end up limiting some of the missile's potential use cases.
  
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
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! Full<br>ammo
 
! Full<br>ammo
 
! 1st<br>rack empty
 
! 1st<br>rack empty
−
! 2nd<br>rack empty
 
−
! 3rd<br>rack empty
 
−
! 4th<br>rack empty
 
−
! 5th<br>rack empty
 
−
! 6th<br>rack empty
 
 
! Visual<br>discrepancy
 
! Visual<br>discrepancy
 
|-
 
|-
−
| '''1''' || __&nbsp;''(+__)'' || __&nbsp;''(+__)'' || __&nbsp;''(+__)'' || __&nbsp;''(+__)'' || __&nbsp;''(+__)'' || __&nbsp;''(+__)'' || __
+
| '''1''' || 0&nbsp;''(+1)'' || No
 
|-
 
|-
 
|}
 
|}
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{{main|QN502CDD}}
 
{{main|QN502CDD}}
  
−
The 4 larger tubes on the missile launcher box house the fire-and-forget QN502CDD missiles with a tandem warhead. This armament is considered the special gun of the QN506. QN502CDD is a fire-and-forget missile with lock-on before launch and automatic self-guidance. It takes a top attack flight profile against the target with some distance and will fly directly toward the nearby one. Not only can their 1,000 mm penetration easily destroy enemy ground vehicles hit behind cover thanks to its unique trajectory, but the missile can also lock onto aerial targets from some distance - the missile will very likely take them out if the target is unaware of the missile flying straight to them. Unlike the ordinary IF missile, the QN502CDD is quite resisent to flares and HIRSS. It can also lock the aircraft in instant within 8 km of effective range without triggering MAW.
+
The 4 larger tubes on the missile launcher house the fire-and-forget QN502CDD missiles that have a tandem warhead. These missiles are considered the 'special guns' of the QN506. The QN502CDD is a fire-and-forget missile which locks on before launch and guides autonomously, and can be fired whilst in motion. It takes a top attack flight profile against targets at a moderate to long distance away, but will also fly directly toward enemies if they are fairly close (approx. <400 m). The ATGMs can be fired off fairly quickly, and will snap-lock onto enemy targets up to 8 km away near instantly. As the missiles take a top attack flight path, they may hit enemies that have moved behind cover after the missile has been fired, although the missile may also impact the terrain in front of the enemy or lose lock in this case. Due to the missile's IR guidance, it will also not set off enemy laser warning systems (LWS) on certain rotary wing and ground vehicles, although helicopters with MAWS will get a warning for an incoming missile.  
  
−
Despite its brilliant firepower, the QN502CDD is quite challenging to use in practice. The awful -5 degree of depression angle dramatically limits its usage as an ATGM carrier. It requires more than half the body of the enemy vehicle exposed in your gunner sight to get a successful lock, which is rare in most situations. It also has a slow peak speed of 205 m/s and mediocre tracking that most enemy helicopters with proper vigilance can easily evade with a roll. Besides, since you cannot decide which place the missile should hit, you might have to spam them when you accidentally have a close-quarters battle with the enemy MBTs and pray they will hit at the right spot and neutralize your enemy.
+
Despite its unique capabilities, the QN502CDDs are quite challenging to use in practice. The awful -5° depression angle of the platform drastically limit its usage against tanks, as the QN506 as a whole cannot exploit terrain features to launch its missiles against enemy armoured vehicles. It also requires more than half the hull of the enemy vehicle to be exposed in your gunner's sight to successfully lock the target, which can be a struggle considering the tank's high profile can mean you can get caught out while trying to get a good missile launch angle. It also has a fairly slow (although faster than contemporary Spikes) top speed of 205 m/s and mediocre tracking that most enemy helicopters with proper vigilance can easily evade with a roll. Another issue is that as you cannot manually guide the missiles, the centre mass-tracking alone may result in poor missile impact angles and damage. To mitigate this, you can choose to launch the missiles in pairs or a few seconds after the first missile hits (or try turning the turret sideways slightly to change the missile's trajectory) to ensure the newly replaced crew members in the enemy tank will be hit and knocked out instantly.
  
−
When fighting in hilly maps, it's suggested that you should rise your gun a bit before launching the QN502CDD, or it might crash into obstacles before its climbing stage. The lock will remain as it is inside a 90° arc from your gun sight.
+
When fighting on hilly maps or near obstacles, it may help to raise your gun a bit before launching the QN502CDD, as it might crash into map geometry or obstacles before it starts lofting. The lock will remain as it is inside a 90° arc from your gun sight.
  
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
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! Full<br>ammo
 
! Full<br>ammo
 
! 1st<br>rack empty
 
! 1st<br>rack empty
−
! 2nd<br>rack empty
 
−
! 3rd<br>rack empty
 
−
! 4th<br>rack empty
 
−
! 5th<br>rack empty
 
−
! 6th<br>rack empty
 
 
! Visual<br>discrepancy
 
! Visual<br>discrepancy
 
|-
 
|-
−
| '''1''' || __&nbsp;''(+__)'' || __&nbsp;''(+__)'' || __&nbsp;''(+__)'' || __&nbsp;''(+__)'' || __&nbsp;''(+__)'' || __&nbsp;''(+__)'' || __
+
| '''1''' || 0&nbsp;''(+1)'' || No
 
|-
 
|-
 
|}
 
|}
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{{main|Type 86 (7.62 mm)}}
 
{{main|Type 86 (7.62 mm)}}
  
−
The 7.62 mm MG is only effective against light vehicles with open compartment. It takes an awkward position since every else armament on this vehicle can do a better job than it from all aspects, so it will only be useful when you want to conserve your valuable ammo. It can still be used to ping targets or to destroy minor obstacles blocking your line of sight.
+
The 7.62 mm MG is only effective against light vehicles with open compartments. It can be used to knock down small bushes and light obstacles, but for the most part will only see use as a desperation tool when shooting back at an enemy.  
  
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
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=== Radar ===
 
=== Radar ===
−
As a light tank, the QN506 abnormally has an IRST tracking radar to help it fight aerial targets. This equipment increases the anti-air capability of the QN506 to both guide the QN201DD and fire your autocannon with accurate leading. However, you still have to manually find aerial targets due to the absence of a search radar.
+
As a light tank, the QN506 uses an electro-optical targeting system to help it fight aerial targets. This equipment will not trigger the LWS of locked hostile aircraft, increasing the anti-air capabilities of the QN506 to both guide the QN201DD and fire its autocannon with accurate leading. However, you still have to manually find aerial targets due to the absence of a search radar, although the presence of thermals on the commander and gunner sight greatly help with this.
  
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
−
! colspan="5" | Target Tracking Radar
+
! colspan="5" | Electro-Optical Target Tracking Radar
 
|-
 
|-
 
! {{Annotation|Maximum<br>Tracking<br>Range|The maximum range at which a target can be tracked}}
 
! {{Annotation|Maximum<br>Tracking<br>Range|The maximum range at which a target can be tracked}}
Line 225: Line 224:
 
== Usage in battles ==
 
== Usage in battles ==
 
<!-- ''Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but instead give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).'' -->
 
<!-- ''Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but instead give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).'' -->
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''Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but instead give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).''
+
As a Chinese light tank, the QN506 carries a variety of weapons to use in battles. The QN506 is a fairly effective vehicle when it comes to destroying enemy light tanks and helicopters without mercy. However, the QN itself is also very vulnerable to enemy fire due to its lacking armour and volatile ATGM launchers. The QN also struggles against MBTs at closer ranges, as almost no armament the QN has aside from the Fire-and-Forget QN502CDDs can reliably handle a T-72 or Leopard 2 from the front. Contrary to the expectations of many players, the QN506 does not have any meaningful advantage on hilly maps. The QN502CDDs can't lock enemy ground targets unless their hulls are mostly exposed, while the QN201DDs lack the penetration to reliably hurt enemy vehicles and the 30 mm cannon unable to depress past -5 degrees.  
−
As currently the highest BR light tank in China tech tree, the QN506 carries many lethal weapons to use in battles. The QN506 is a great predator to slay light vehicles and helicopters. However, you're also very vulnerable to enemy firepower due to your fragile turrent and volatile ATGM launchers. Besides, the QN506 lacks any efficient measure to kill a MBT from the front except of its uncontrollable QN502CDD missiles. Far from the expectation of many players, the QN506 doesn't have advantage in hilly maps. The top-attacking QN502CDD can't lock the enemy with tiny part of the vehicle exposed. The underperforming engine and mediocre depression also limit its capability to flank and maneuver across the maps.
 
  
−
With the IRST tracking radar, the QN506 is capable to shoot down helicopters and careless jets with its powerful weapons. However, all of its armaments lack proximity fuze to be a professional SPAA. On occasion, you may use QN502CDD to hunt helicopters when they sneak attack you team and immediately hide behide hills.
+
With the electro-optical targeting system, the QN506 is capable of shooting down helicopters and careless jets with its powerful weapons. While jet aircraft can often be elusive with their longer ranged missiles and slow fire rate on the 30 mm autocannon of the QN, the real talent of this vehicle is against helicopters. Helicopters can get MAWS warnings from your missiles; However, there also exist a plethora of enemy helicopters that you will see without MAWS as well, such as the [[YAH-64]], [[AH-64A]], [[Mi-24P (Germany)]], [[G-LYNX]] and [[Mi-28A]] and many more; Helicopters equipped with MAWS are surprisingly rare at the QN's own BR, and as such most players won't even be aware of a small, fairly slow and smokeless ATGM headed towards their vehicle. The QN502CDDs guide for over a minute and have respectable range, and you can quite often easily handle two or even three enemy helicopters on your own should your team prove ineffective at shooting them down.  
  
 +
Against helicopters with MAWS, however, you have another unlikely advantage; the missile's late MAWS triggering. While the missile is slow, it has the ability to seemingly appear out of thin air due to how late it triggers MAWS. Proper SAMs and direct-fire ATGMs often used to engage enemy helicopters are fast, with MIM146s on the [[XM1069]] flying at 1,027 m/s, 95Ya6 on the [[Pantsir-S1]] flying at a staggering 1,300 m/s and Stinger/Rolands flying at a respectable 680 and 570 m/s respectively - but your QN502CDDs fly at a max speed of around 200 m/s. However, while other SAMs fire much faster, they also trigger MAWS much earlier. When normal SAMs fire at a helicopter it will usually receive the MAWS warning near-instantly; however, with the QN502CDD, the MAWS won't warn the helicopter of an incoming missile until the QN502CDD is close to hitting, which usually can catch people off guard as they think they might have more time to dodge. As the missile lacks a proximity fuse very aggressive dodging or maneuvering can lead to a miss, but overall still lets the QN have a niche against rotary wing vehicles across all situations.
 
=== Pros and cons ===
 
=== Pros and cons ===
 
<!-- ''Summarise and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in a bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - use substitutions with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".'' -->
 
<!-- ''Summarise and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in a bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - use substitutions with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".'' -->
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'''Pros:'''
 
'''Pros:'''
  
−
* 4 fire-and-forget IR missiles have high penetration (1000mm) and long range
+
* 4 fire-and-forget IR missiles that have high penetration (1,000 mm) and long range
−
* 20 beam-riding missiles for taking out enemy targets from the sides
+
* 20 semi-automatic high speed missiles for taking out enemy targets from the sides
 
* High-definition TVD cameras and retractable CITV
 
* High-definition TVD cameras and retractable CITV
−
* Opto-electronic tracker for taking out aerial targets
+
* Opto-electronic tracker for locking and tracking aerial targets effectively
−
* Sufficiently fast turret traverse speed
+
* Thermal vision helps find enemy aerial and ground threats effectively
 +
* QN502CDDs are highly effective against enemy rotary aviation as they are unexpected and have a fairly long firing range - a rare niche to have for a non-SPAA vehicle
 +
* Scout drone allows it to effectively position against enemies on larger maps for higher degree of success
 +
 
  
 
'''Cons:'''
 
'''Cons:'''
  
−
* Rather low mobility as a light tank at its rank
+
* Rather low mobility as a light tank for its rank
−
* Insufficient protection against common rounds at its rank
+
* Insufficient protection against common rounds
−
* Relatively huge as a "light tank"
+
* Fairly tall profile for a "light tank"
 
* QN201DD has insufficient penetration for targets with composite armour/ERA
 
* QN201DD has insufficient penetration for targets with composite armour/ERA
−
* Low RoF for the autocannon
+
* Low rate of fire for the autocannon
−
* Slow -7km/h reverse speed and poor -5° gun depression
+
* Slow -7 km/h reverse speed and poor -5° gun depression
 +
* Cannot fire its QN201DDs on the move, and QN502CDDs are limited heavily by terrain and launch distance on most maps
  
 
== History ==
 
== History ==
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== Media ==
 
== Media ==
 
<!-- ''Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.'' -->
 
<!-- ''Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.'' -->
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''Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.''
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 +
;Skins
 +
 
 +
* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=cn_qn506 Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]
 +
 
 +
;Videos
 +
{{Youtube-gallery|y2Ph0rmD5sU|'''Unmanned Turret Tanks: Showcasing New Tech''' discusses the {{PAGENAME}} at 02:39 - ''War Thunder Official Channel''}}
  
 
== See also ==
 
== See also ==

Latest revision as of 15:06, 23 November 2023

Rank VI USA | Premium | Golden Eagles
A-10A Thunderbolt (Early)
QN506
cn_qn506.png
GarageImage QN506.jpg
ArtImage QN506.png
QN506
China flag.png China
VII Rank
Battle rating:
AB RB SB
10.0 10.0 10.0
Class:
Purchase:Bundle or Gift
Show in game
MARKET

Description

The QN506, officially nicknamed the "New King of Land Warfare" (新陆战之王) during the 2018 Zhuhai Airshow, is a defense product based on the ZTZ59's chassis with a new 30 mm turret system and missile systems, as well as sporting the latest TVD cameras for the crews of the vehicle. Marketed as a competitor for the Russian BMPT and aimed for urban battles/counter-guerrilla operations, the vehicle has yet to secure orders from overseas customers.

Introduced during Update "Sky Guardians" as one of the main rewards for the "Repair Factory" event, the QN506 was the first ground vehicle to introduce fire-and-forget missiles to ground battles. While the protection and mobility of the QN506 are mostly identical to the ZTZ59 which its chassis is based on, the 24 guided munitions and 30 mm cannon can certainly make both aerial and ground targets have a very bad day.

General info

Survivability and armour

ERA
Effective action against the cumulative ammunition
Smoke grenades
Creation of a smoke screen in front of the vehicle
LWS
Notifies about the vehicle's exposure to laser emissions
Armourfront / side / back
Hull100 / 80 / 45
Turret25 / 25 / 25
Crew3 people
Visibility200 %

The QN506 is based on the chassis of the ZTZ59 with additional ERA and rubber side skirts. To fit the new combat compartment, the QN506 has a heightened compartment with additional 30 mm plates, as well as sporting the ZPT99G turret in the centre of the hull. Contrary to what some may think, the combat compartment is completely isolated from the crew compartment (that is, the turret is unmanned), so while any shots to the turret will very likely disable the gun or the turret traverse, the crew is very likely to be left unharmed. As the crew is placed near the front of the tank in a tandem configuration (with the driver slightly offset from the other crew members), any centre mass shots will likely knock the vehicle out in one go.

The flat frontal plate and the fragile unmanned turret are huge weak spots that can be penetrated by autocannons and disable the QN506's ability to fight back. The ERA on the upper glacis could potentially help the QN506 survive a few shots from HEATFS or early ATGMs, but should not be relied on for any protection seeing as the QN506 can face high-powered APFSDS rounds that can go through the front plate without issue, as well as tandem-warhead ATGMs. The ATGM launchers mounted on each side of the QN506's unmanned turret are vulnerable to overpressure damage; Sometimes, even just a few rounds from an autocannon can detonate the launchers or ignite the ammo belts, either burning your crew alive or causing a catastrophic ammunition detonation (and subsequent loss of the vehicle. While some fires of this nature can be survived, it is better to temper your expectations if your ammunition does burst into flames at any point. Even if the fire goes out without issue, it may also burn through your ammunition (literally), so going to a nearby capture point to refill your lost ATGM/30 mm cannon ammo may be a good idea.

Armour type:

  • Rolled homogeneous armour (hull, turret, underbody)
  • High hardness rolled armour (additional armour plates, missile racks)
  • ERA (hull front)
  • Rubber-fabric screens (side skirts)
  • Structural steel (slat armour)
Armour Front (Slope angle) Sides Rear Roof
Hull 30 + 10 mm (29°) Top
100 mm (60°) Upper glacis
100 + 15 mm (48-61°) Lower glacis 		30 mm Top
80 mm Bottom 		30 mm Top
45 mm Bottom 		30 mm Front
20 mm Rear
Turret 25.4 mm
25.4 mm Gun mantlet
25.4 + 10 mm (26°) Turret ring 		25.4 mm
25.4 + 10 mm (26°) Turret ring 		25.4 mm
25.4 + 10 mm (26°) Turret ring 		25.4 mm
Explosive reactive armour Front (Slope angle)
Hull Upper glacis(62°, 66°):
120 mm Kinetic/ 370 mm Chemical

Notes:

  • Suspension wheels are 10 mm thick, and tracks are 15 mm thick.
  • Side skirts are 5 mm thick, and the underbody is 20 mm thick.
  • Additional armour plates are 10 mm thick.
  • There is a 30 mm internal RHA screen separating the crew compartment from the middle of the hull.
  • The middle of the lower glacis (about 1/3) is covered by an attached track, adding an additional 15 mm of armour.

Mobility

Speedforward / back
AB56 / 9 km/h
RB and SB51 / 8 km/h
Number of gears5 forward
1 back
Weight30.0 t
Engine power
AB992 hp
RB and SB520 hp
Power-to-weight ratio
AB33.1 hp/t
RB and SB17.3 hp/t

The QN506 retains the 12V150L engine identical to the ZTZ59s; most tanks at its rank have at least 800 hp which also means that the QN506 will not be the first one to reach the frontlines. This also may make it more challenging to flank enemies effectively, as other light tanks around its BR such as the Type 16s and Centauros will outpace your vehicle due to their high HP/t and wheeled design. The reverse gear of -7 km/h is suboptimal but workable, and the neutral steering speed is around average taking into account the lack of neutral steering and that other contemporaries like the Type 16/Centauros as well as the M1128 and PTL02/WMA301 have much wider, slower turning circles due to being wheeled). Overall, the hull will get you to where you need to go without too much issue, although the QN won't be winning any medals for speed.

Game Mode Max Speed (km/h) Weight (tons) Engine power (horsepower) Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Forward Reverse Stock Upgraded Stock Upgraded
Arcade 56 9 30 806 992 26.87 33.07
Realistic 51 8 460 520 15.33 17.33

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference
AB3 474 → 5 815 Sl icon.png
RB3 327 → 5 569 Sl icon.png
SB4 434 → 7 422 Sl icon.png
Total cost of modifications207 500 Rp icon.png
345 000 Sl icon.png
Talisman cost2 800 Ge icon.png
Crew training200 000 Sl icon.png
Experts710 000 Sl icon.png
Aces2 100 Ge icon.png
Research Aces1 080 000 Rp icon.png
Reward for battleAB / RB / SB
140 / 170 / 220 % Sl icon.png
232 / 232 / 232 % Rp icon.png
Modifications
Mobility Protection Firepower
Mods new tank traks.png
Tracks
Research:
15 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
23 000 Sl icon.png
520 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank suspension.png
Suspension
Research:
7 300 Rp icon.png
Cost:
11 000 Sl icon.png
250 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank break.png
Brake System
Research:
7 300 Rp icon.png
Cost:
11 000 Sl icon.png
250 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank filter.png
Filters
Research:
11 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
17 000 Sl icon.png
380 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank transmission.png
Transmission
Research:
12 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
19 000 Sl icon.png
420 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank engine.png
Engine
Research:
12 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
19 000 Sl icon.png
420 Ge icon.png
Mods tank tool kit.png
Improved Parts
Research:
4 500 Rp icon.png
Cost:
23 000 Sl icon.png
520 Ge icon.png
Mods extinguisher.png
Improved FPE
Research:
2 200 Rp icon.png
Cost:
11 000 Sl icon.png
250 Ge icon.png
Mods tank reinforcement cn.png
Crew Replenishment
Research:
11 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
17 000 Sl icon.png
380 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank horizontal aiming.png
Horizontal Drive
Research:
15 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
23 000 Sl icon.png
520 Ge icon.png
Mods tank cannon.png
Adjustment of Fire
Research:
7 300 Rp icon.png
Cost:
11 000 Sl icon.png
250 Ge icon.png
Mods airstrike.png
Airstrike
Research:
7 300 Rp icon.png
Cost:
11 000 Sl icon.png
250 Ge icon.png
Mods scouting.png
Improved optics
Research:
7 300 Rp icon.png
Cost:
11 000 Sl icon.png
250 Ge icon.png
Mods scout streak.png
Scout UAV
Research:
7 300 Rp icon.png
Cost:
11 000 Sl icon.png
250 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank vertical aiming.png
Elevation Mechanism
Research:
11 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
17 000 Sl icon.png
380 Ge icon.png
Mods smoke screen.png
Smoke grenade
Research:
11 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
17 000 Sl icon.png
380 Ge icon.png
Mods tank ammo.png
30mm_2a42_APDS_ammo_pack
Research:
11 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
17 000 Sl icon.png
380 Ge icon.png
Mods art support.png
Artillery Support
Research:
12 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
19 000 Sl icon.png
420 Ge icon.png
Mods tank ammo.png
30mm_2a42_APDS_FS_ammo_pack
Research:
12 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
19 000 Sl icon.png
420 Ge icon.png
Mods thermal sight.png
NVD
Research:
12 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
19 000 Sl icon.png
420 Ge icon.png
Mods counterMeasures.png
LWS/LR
Research:
12 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
19 000 Sl icon.png
420 Ge icon.png

Armaments

Laser rangefinder
Reduces the error and increases the maximum measurable distance of the rangefinder
Night vision device
Improves visibility by enhancing natural light or active illumination.
Thermal imager
Allows to see thermal radiation in the infrared range day and night

Main armament

30 mm ZPZ02 cannon
Two-plane stabilizer
Reduces the swing of the gun in two planes while moving
Ammunition200 rounds
Belt capacity100 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
1.3 → 1.0 s
Fire rate330 shots/min
Vertical guidance-5° / 52°
Main article: ZPZ02 (30 mm)

China introduced the 2A72 alongside the turret of the BMP-3 in 1993, and reverse-engineering of the gun was completed by the late 1990s. The standalone gun was named ZPZ02 while the lightweight turret housing this gun was named ZPT99 instead, an anomaly in the PLA's naming conventions. Unlike its Russian counterpart at the time, NORINCO developed APFSDS for the gun, giving more options and better odds of penetrating enemy targets.

The QN506 can only bring 2 belts of ammo in total into the battle. Each belt contains 100 rounds, and the ammo type of those two must be different (except the default one). This feature forces players to conserve their fairly limited ammo (especially when compared to contemporaries such as the BMP-2 and BMP-2M) and use it wisely.

30 mm ZPZ02 Turret rotation speed (°/s) Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode Capacity (Belt) Fire rate Vertical Horizontal Stabilizer Stock Upgraded Full Expert Aced Stock Full Expert Aced
Arcade 200 (100) 330 -5°/+52° ±180° Two-plane 38.1 52.7 64.0 70.8 75.3 1.30 1.15 1.06 1.00
Realistic 23.8 28.0 32.8 37.1 40.0

Ammunition

  • Default: APDS · HEF-I* · APDS · HEF-I* - You may bring 2 belts of this ammo, unlike the others. Unfortunately, half the rounds in this belt lack effectiveness against both tanks and planes (against enemy tanks the HE rounds will do almost no damage, while against enemy aircraft the AP shells may often overpenetrate and do lackluster damage), while the 30 mm HEF-I doesn't have proximity fuse. It is suggested to research other more useful ammo as soon as possible.
  • 30 mm HE: HEF-I* · APDS · HEF-I* · HEF-I* - This ammo type focuses on AA role as it contains more HEF-I compared to the default one. However, the absence of a proximity fuse and the relatively low amount of burst mass hurts its effectiveness a fair bit.
  • 30 mm APDS: APDS · APDS · APDS · APDS - This one is a full APDS belt which can do decent damage against lightly-armoured vehicles. However, its performance dramatically decreases against sloped armour, meaning you will most likely need to be side-on against enemy MBTs to do any consistent damage. It is, however, the belt of choice up until you get the 30 mm APDS-FS belt as your primary anti-tank ammunition, and can dispatch enemy light vehicles and some enemy aircraft with moderate effectiveness.
  • 30 mm APDS-FS: APFSDS · APFSDS · APFSDS - This belt is a full APFSDS belt with the best performance in terms of penetration. This belt has around 100 mm of penetration at point blank and can go through the side armour of most vehicles it sees, MBTs included. Note that most MBTs around this BR have a sufficiently thick lower glacis to stop the rounds if engaging from the front (with some exceptions, as tanks like the Type 74s can be fairly easily penetrated from almost any angle), and you may have to try and shoot out either the enemy's barrel or gun breech to disable them before flanking around for the final blow.

Penetration statistics
Ammunition Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
10 m 100 m 500 m 1,000 m 1,500 m 2,000 m
HEF-I* 8 7 6 5 4 3
APDS 85 84 81 77 74 70
APFSDS 102 99 94 88 81 75
Shell details
Ammunition Velocity
(m/s) 		Projectile
mass (kg) 		Fuse delay
(m) 		Fuse sensitivity
(mm) 		Explosive mass
(TNT equivalent) (g) 		Ricochet
0% 50% 100%
HEF-I* 960 0.39 0.1 0.1 75.46 79° 80° 81°
APDS 1,180 0.29 - - - 75° 78° 80°
APFSDS 1,190 0.13 - - - 78° 80° 81°

Ammo racks

Full
ammo 		1st
rack empty 		2nd
rack empty 		Visual
discrepancy
2 1 (+1) 0 (+2) No

Additional armament

QN201DD
Ammunition20 rounds
Belt capacity20 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
26.0 → 20.0 s
Fire rate120 shots/min
Vertical guidance-5° / 30°
Fire on the moveup to 6 km/h
Main article: QN201DD

The 20 smaller tubes on the launcher are laser-guided QN201DD missiles. This armament is considered the secondary gun of the QN506. Marketed as a "multipurpose economical missile" by Guide Infrared, while they might lack the penetration to handle MBTs frontally at its rank with ERA or composite armour, 20 of them are more than enough to take out both light tanks and MBTs from the sides or sometimes the lower glacis. Unfortunately, the QN201DD can be disrupted by IRCM due to its guidance being semi-automatic, so you may have to destroy the enemy's IRCM with your autocannon before launching your QN201DDs. The missiles are often best used as a finisher after disabling a vehicle (usually an enemy light tank or SPAA) with a missile to overpressure or directly knock out their crew.

Besides the anti-tank role, this ATGM is also capable of acting as a makeshift surface-to-air missile. It has 4 km of effective firing range and top out at a fairly high velocity of 450 m/s. Unlike most lower-BR SACLOS missiles, the QN201DD has an acceptable turning rate and flies very stably. With the tracking radar and proper guidance, it may get a direct hit on careless helicopters and jets. Still, at the end of the day this is a missile meant for anti-tank, not anti-aircraft, and against players who are manoeuvring or trying to actively dodge your missiles landing a direct hit can be challenging due to the fairly low maximum G loading of the missile and the lack of a proximity fuse. You cannot guide multiple QN201DDs at once or launch them on the move, which do end up limiting some of the missile's potential use cases.

QN201DD missile
Capacity (Belt) Vertical Horizontal Stabilizer
20 (20) - - -

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition Type of
warhead 		Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
10 m 100 m 500 m 1,000 m 1,500 m 2,000 m
QN201DD ATGM 200 200 200 200 200 200
Missile details
Ammunition Type of
warhead 		Velocity
(m/s) 		Range
(m) 		Projectile
mass (kg) 		Fuse delay
(m) 		Fuse sensitivity
(mm) 		Explosive mass
(TNT equivalent) (g) 		Ricochet
0% 50% 100%
QN201DD ATGM 450 4,000 7 0.05 0.1 750 80° 82° 90°

Ammo racks

Full
ammo 		1st
rack empty 		Visual
discrepancy
1 0 (+1) No

Additional armament

QN502CDD
Two-plane stabilizer
Reduces the swing of the gun in two planes while moving
Ammunition4 rounds
Belt capacity4 rounds
Fire rate120 shots/min
Vertical guidance-5° / 30°
Main article: QN502CDD

The 4 larger tubes on the missile launcher house the fire-and-forget QN502CDD missiles that have a tandem warhead. These missiles are considered the 'special guns' of the QN506. The QN502CDD is a fire-and-forget missile which locks on before launch and guides autonomously, and can be fired whilst in motion. It takes a top attack flight profile against targets at a moderate to long distance away, but will also fly directly toward enemies if they are fairly close (approx. <400 m). The ATGMs can be fired off fairly quickly, and will snap-lock onto enemy targets up to 8 km away near instantly. As the missiles take a top attack flight path, they may hit enemies that have moved behind cover after the missile has been fired, although the missile may also impact the terrain in front of the enemy or lose lock in this case. Due to the missile's IR guidance, it will also not set off enemy laser warning systems (LWS) on certain rotary wing and ground vehicles, although helicopters with MAWS will get a warning for an incoming missile.

Despite its unique capabilities, the QN502CDDs are quite challenging to use in practice. The awful -5° depression angle of the platform drastically limit its usage against tanks, as the QN506 as a whole cannot exploit terrain features to launch its missiles against enemy armoured vehicles. It also requires more than half the hull of the enemy vehicle to be exposed in your gunner's sight to successfully lock the target, which can be a struggle considering the tank's high profile can mean you can get caught out while trying to get a good missile launch angle. It also has a fairly slow (although faster than contemporary Spikes) top speed of 205 m/s and mediocre tracking that most enemy helicopters with proper vigilance can easily evade with a roll. Another issue is that as you cannot manually guide the missiles, the centre mass-tracking alone may result in poor missile impact angles and damage. To mitigate this, you can choose to launch the missiles in pairs or a few seconds after the first missile hits (or try turning the turret sideways slightly to change the missile's trajectory) to ensure the newly replaced crew members in the enemy tank will be hit and knocked out instantly.

When fighting on hilly maps or near obstacles, it may help to raise your gun a bit before launching the QN502CDD, as it might crash into map geometry or obstacles before it starts lofting. The lock will remain as it is inside a 90° arc from your gun sight.

QN502CDD missile
Capacity (Belt) Vertical Horizontal Stabilizer
4 (4) - - -

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition Type of
warhead 		Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
10 m 100 m 500 m 1,000 m 1,500 m 2,000 m
QN502CDD ATGM (tandem) 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000
Missile details
Ammunition Type of
warhead 		Velocity
(m/s) 		Range
(m) 		Projectile
mass (kg) 		Fuse delay
(m) 		Fuse sensitivity
(mm) 		Explosive mass
(TNT equivalent) (kg) 		Ricochet
0% 50% 100%
QN502CDD ATGM (tandem) 205 20,000 16.2 0.4 0.1 1.39 80° 82° 90°

Ammo racks

Full
ammo 		1st
rack empty 		Visual
discrepancy
1 0 (+1) No

Machine guns

7.62 mm Type 86 machine gun (coaxial)
Ammunition1 000 rounds
Belt capacity250 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
10.4 → 8.0 s
Fire rate700 shots/min
Main article: Type 86 (7.62 mm)

The 7.62 mm MG is only effective against light vehicles with open compartments. It can be used to knock down small bushes and light obstacles, but for the most part will only see use as a desperation tool when shooting back at an enemy.

7.62 mm Type 86
Mount Capacity (Belt) Fire rate Vertical Horizontal
Coaxial 1,000 (250) 700 - -

Radar

As a light tank, the QN506 uses an electro-optical targeting system to help it fight aerial targets. This equipment will not trigger the LWS of locked hostile aircraft, increasing the anti-air capabilities of the QN506 to both guide the QN201DD and fire its autocannon with accurate leading. However, you still have to manually find aerial targets due to the absence of a search radar, although the presence of thermals on the commander and gunner sight greatly help with this.

Electro-Optical Target Tracking Radar
Maximum
Tracking
Range 		Minimum
Tracking
Range 		Azimuth Tracking
Angle 		Elevation Tracking
Angle 		Minimum
target speed
8,000 m __ m ±__ -__°/+__° __ m/s (__ km/h)

Usage in battles

As a Chinese light tank, the QN506 carries a variety of weapons to use in battles. The QN506 is a fairly effective vehicle when it comes to destroying enemy light tanks and helicopters without mercy. However, the QN itself is also very vulnerable to enemy fire due to its lacking armour and volatile ATGM launchers. The QN also struggles against MBTs at closer ranges, as almost no armament the QN has aside from the Fire-and-Forget QN502CDDs can reliably handle a T-72 or Leopard 2 from the front. Contrary to the expectations of many players, the QN506 does not have any meaningful advantage on hilly maps. The QN502CDDs can't lock enemy ground targets unless their hulls are mostly exposed, while the QN201DDs lack the penetration to reliably hurt enemy vehicles and the 30 mm cannon unable to depress past -5 degrees.

With the electro-optical targeting system, the QN506 is capable of shooting down helicopters and careless jets with its powerful weapons. While jet aircraft can often be elusive with their longer ranged missiles and slow fire rate on the 30 mm autocannon of the QN, the real talent of this vehicle is against helicopters. Helicopters can get MAWS warnings from your missiles; However, there also exist a plethora of enemy helicopters that you will see without MAWS as well, such as the YAH-64, AH-64A, Mi-24P (Germany), G-LYNX and Mi-28A and many more; Helicopters equipped with MAWS are surprisingly rare at the QN's own BR, and as such most players won't even be aware of a small, fairly slow and smokeless ATGM headed towards their vehicle. The QN502CDDs guide for over a minute and have respectable range, and you can quite often easily handle two or even three enemy helicopters on your own should your team prove ineffective at shooting them down.

Against helicopters with MAWS, however, you have another unlikely advantage; the missile's late MAWS triggering. While the missile is slow, it has the ability to seemingly appear out of thin air due to how late it triggers MAWS. Proper SAMs and direct-fire ATGMs often used to engage enemy helicopters are fast, with MIM146s on the XM1069 flying at 1,027 m/s, 95Ya6 on the Pantsir-S1 flying at a staggering 1,300 m/s and Stinger/Rolands flying at a respectable 680 and 570 m/s respectively - but your QN502CDDs fly at a max speed of around 200 m/s. However, while other SAMs fire much faster, they also trigger MAWS much earlier. When normal SAMs fire at a helicopter it will usually receive the MAWS warning near-instantly; however, with the QN502CDD, the MAWS won't warn the helicopter of an incoming missile until the QN502CDD is close to hitting, which usually can catch people off guard as they think they might have more time to dodge. As the missile lacks a proximity fuse very aggressive dodging or maneuvering can lead to a miss, but overall still lets the QN have a niche against rotary wing vehicles across all situations.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • 4 fire-and-forget IR missiles that have high penetration (1,000 mm) and long range
  • 20 semi-automatic high speed missiles for taking out enemy targets from the sides
  • High-definition TVD cameras and retractable CITV
  • Opto-electronic tracker for locking and tracking aerial targets effectively
  • Thermal vision helps find enemy aerial and ground threats effectively
  • QN502CDDs are highly effective against enemy rotary aviation as they are unexpected and have a fairly long firing range - a rare niche to have for a non-SPAA vehicle
  • Scout drone allows it to effectively position against enemies on larger maps for higher degree of success


Cons:

  • Rather low mobility as a light tank for its rank
  • Insufficient protection against common rounds
  • Fairly tall profile for a "light tank"
  • QN201DD has insufficient penetration for targets with composite armour/ERA
  • Low rate of fire for the autocannon
  • Slow -7 km/h reverse speed and poor -5° gun depression
  • Cannot fire its QN201DDs on the move, and QN502CDDs are limited heavily by terrain and launch distance on most maps

History

The story of how an opto-electronical equipment manufacturer entered the arms trade sector (the first listed private-sector company to do so) traces back to Huang Li (黄立), who quit his position from Hubei Electricity Experiment Institute (湖北省电力试验研究所) in 1999 and had established Guide Infrared with his savings less than a year before. His company was quite involved in the SARS pandemic due to the dramatic rise in demand of thermometers: although he found French thermal sensors very effective, US sanctions on such sensors to Mainland China were issued in 2008, so the company invested billions of CNY to develop domestic thermal sensors and the company overcame this challenge by the late-2010s. Meanwhile, Guide Infrared also earned the certificate to research and manufacture ordnance in 2014 and established a missile institute in 2017; they also acquired a factory with non-lethal munition product line and started research on complete weapon systems. [1]

During the 2018 Zhuhai Airshow, there was an uncommon product in the Guide Military (subsidy of Wuhan Guide Infrared 武汉高德红外股份有限公司) showroom - a vehicle with 24 visible missiles onboard and sporting a 30 mm autocannon on a ZTZ59 chassis. As the visitors took a closer look to this vehicle, the name "QN506" and "New King of Land Warfare" (新陆战之王) came into the eyes of observers.

Media

Skins
Videos
Unmanned Turret Tanks: Showcasing New Tech discusses the QN506 at 02:39 - War Thunder Official Channel

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

  • reference to the series of the vehicles;
  • links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

References

  1. ↑ https://user.guancha.cn/main/content?id=834173


China light tanks
Type 63  Object 211 · Type 63 · ZTS63
Type 62  Type 62
WZ551  ZSL92 · PTL02 · WMA301
ZBL08  ZLT11
Type 86  ZBD86
WZ502  ZBD04A
ROC  M41D · M64
Type 59  QN506
USA  ␗M8 LAC · ␗M3A3 Stuart · ␗M3A3 (1st PTG) · ␗M5A1 · ␗M24 · ␗M18 GMC · ␗M41A3
USSR  ␗T-26 · T-26 No.531 · ␗PT-76

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