ZBD04A
Contents
Description
The ZhuangJia BuBing LÜDai 04A (ZBD04A式步兵战车), with an industry code WZ502G, is one of the main composition of modern time PLAGF heavy composite mechanized brigades and the most advanced IFV for the army. As part of the military modernization program since 1990s, PLAGF, which had only started the deployment of ZBD86 as their designated IFV on early 1990s, purchased the 2K23 turret system from Rostec after their evaluations on the BMP-3 with negative impression mostly on the hull ergonomics; the new turret system and the designated chassis under the name ZBD97 (WZ502) was developed since 1997 all the way to 2003 and commissioned as the ZBD04 as the new generation PLAGF IFV. Likely due to new stages of military modernization called for revisions on IFV design philosophy, the new IFV adopted a NATO-alike hull design while retaining identical turret system from ZBD04, upgraded protection, mobility and state-of-the-art FCS for the new IFV, leading to the introduction of ZBD04A which has been spotted since 2011.
As the very first dedicated autocannon IFV introduced to Chinese tech tree in Update "Alpha Strike", ZBD04A puts the full-stop of the embarrassing situation where both PLAGF and ROCA couldn't offer any IFV with autocannon; with the superior FCS, mobility for its size and wide variety of domestic/licensed ammunition based on the BMP-3, ZBD04A can be a fearsome flanker with its autocannon or supporting vehicle for the advancing allies - the vehicle will not disappoint players with its new capabilities, be sure to find a large enough object to be your cover in dire situations due to its rather huge size.
General info
Survivability and armour
If ZBD04 can be said as the Chinese interpterion of BMP-3 for better crew ergonomics (which was the deal-breaker of BMP-3 with its unique, narrow hatches), ZBD04A is the total departure of Warsaw-Pact/Russian designs with a much larger hull while retaining similar turret from ZBD04. To fit new powerpack which is part of the fruit of ZTZ99A (WZ1001) program, as well as fulfilling the protection requirements from PLAGF, ZBD04A enlarged the engine bay while revising the construction angles of the hull. The vehicle is constructed with RHA armor and covered by either composite plates (by LFP, four blocks) or harden steel plates (on the sides and front of turret), while the turret is constructed with aluminum alloy instead; oddly enough, the aluminum alloy shares identical protection coefficient to conventional RHA armor. To put the front protection in short words: anything below 25 mm caliber and without subcaliber shell is fruitless. The side can also withstand up to .50 cal bullets, thus the overall survivability is quite well for such a huge IFV.
The crew of 3 has similar layout to NATO IFVs - instead of having all crews close to the centerline like BMP series, the driver is placed on the far left of the hull while the remaining two are in the turret (gunner on left, commander on right); while the protection is very sufficient to extend the crew's service, but once penetrated, if the crew are not disabled by higher caliber kinetic shells, hitting the carousel below the turret crews will also turn ZBD04A into a Shenzhou rocket with its turret flying sky high, let alone if the vehicle is at full-load (up to 48 projectiles and 500 30 mm shells), it's always better not being hit at all.
Armour type:
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 18 mm (82°) UFP
20 mm +30 mm (43°) LFP |
20 +10 mm Top 20 mm Bottom |
13 mm | 13 mm |
| Turret | 40 mm + 15 mm Turret front 40 mm Gun mantlet |
40 mm | 40 mm | 18 mm |
Notes:
Mobility
To further increase the mobility of ZBD04A to keep up with MBTs, NORINCO installed new power pack consists of new version of 6V150 (same name as the one on ZBD86 but based on 12V150HB on ZTZ99 series) and CH400D transmission; enabling the vehicle to quickly reach vantage points or flanking enemies with its mobility, as well as retreat from danger much faster than BMP-1 variants.
| Game Mode | Max Speed (km/h) | Weight (tons) | Engine power (horsepower) | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | Reverse | Stock | Upgraded | Stock | Upgraded | ||
| Arcade | 78 | 20 | 22.9 | _,___ | 1,145 | __.__ | 50 |
| Realistic | 70 | 18 | _,___ | 600 | __.__ | 26.2 | |
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Armaments
Main armament
As part of the main component of ZBD04 series, China acquired the 2K23 turret system from Russia in the 1990s as the mean to quickly enhance the overall firepower of PLAGF IFVs. Both Chinese and Russian systems use identical weapons aside from the coaxial machine gun; in Chinese's case, NORINCO also developed a new autoloader for the onboard missiles thus enabling vastly higher rate of fire than BMP-3 to the equivalent of BMD-4. The ZPL02 (ZPZ02) also carries APFSDS which is lacking on any vehicles with 2A72 autocannon, making flanking much easier thanks to the high penetration.
| 30 mm ZPL02 | 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 | 500 (250) | 330 | -6°/+60° | ±180° | Two-plane | __._ | __._ | __._ | __._ | __._ | _.__ | _.__ | _.__ | _.__ |
| Realistic | __._ | __._ | __._ | __._ | __._ | |||||||||
Ammunition
- Default: APDS · HEF-I* · APDS · HEF-I*
- 30 mm HE: HEF-I* · APDS · HEF-I* · HEF-I*
- 30 mm APDS: APDS · APDS · APDS · APDS
- 30 mm APDS-FS: APFSDS · APFSDS · APFSDS
| 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 |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
5th rack empty |
6th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ |
Additional armament
Part of the composition of 2K23 system is the iconic 100 mm smoothbore, low-recoil cannon as the main weapon to demolish enemy positions or taking out enemy tanks with ATGM; in this case, PLAGF neither introduce the better 9M117M1 nor developed domestic alternative of such missile, thus affecting the odds to disable enemy MBTs with ERA or composite protection with one shot.
| 100 mm ZPL04 | Reloading rate (seconds) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| 50 | - | - | Two-plane | 4.0 | |||
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 | ||
| 3OF32 | HE | 31 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 31 |
| 3OF70 | HE | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 |
| APS03 | ATGM (tandem) | 600 | 600 | 600 | 600 | 600 | 600 |
| Shell details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg) |
Ricochet | |||||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| 3OF32 | HE | 250 | 15.6 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 2.6 | 79° | 80° | 81° | |||
| 3OF70 | HE | 355 | 13.41 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 3.54 | 79° | 80° | 81° | |||
| 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% | ||||||||||
| APS03 | ATGM (tandem) | 370 | 4,000 | 18.8 | 0.4 | 0.01 | 4.77 | 80° | 82° | 90° | ||
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
5th rack empty |
6th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ |
Machine guns
Like most PLAGF vehicles post-2010, instead of more conventional 7.62x39 mm caliber, ZBD04A adapted the QJT with 5.8x42 mm caliber; while it might sound nowhere threating to armored vehicles, this is not the case for exposed crews.
| 5.8 mm QJT | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| ___ (___) | ___ | __° | __° | |
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).
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Extensive frontal protection with composite plates rated up to 35 mm autocannons (full-caliber shell)
- Fast and nimble for such a huge IFV
- Sufficient reverse to get away from danger
- Improved gunnery system to some Russian equivalents
- Fixed 4 second reload rate for both missiles or HE shells
- Access to 30 mm APFSDS
- Tandem ATGM for taking out MBTs frontally
- 3rd Gen TVD for gunner and CITV with high magnification
Cons:
- Rather huge target (overall height and length equivalent to an Abrams!)
- Low RoF for the autocannon
- Less protected sides without composite screens against chemical energy weapons
- Lacks more powerful ATGM for higher rank MBTs
History
The Early Attempt - ZBD04
For almost 4 decades since the establishment of the People's Republic, the military has yet to have any IFVs even though being observant to the Cold War changes; but thanks to the military trades since economic reform with Egypt, PLAGF eventually acquired examples of BMP-1 and reverse-engineered ZBD86. By the time ZBD86 was introduced in late-1980s, PLAGF attempted to further modernize the already obsolete chassis with NATO equipment, but incidents of the era and the unreliable subsystems of ZBD86 stalled the overall development of IFV. While NORINCO were still developing their BMP-2 equivalent as the ZBD86-I with a 25 mm ZPT90 turret (the more well-known ZBD86A was yet to be developed until circa 2003), PLAGF's modernization also called for new IFVs for the future battlefields; with domestic alternatives still under development, their laid their eyes onto the successor of the long-gone Red Giant, Russia.
By 1993, Boris Yeltsin's new economic "therapy" has negative impacts to Russia, which also called for exports of Russian equipment as means to earn foreign exchange; Mainland China has already acquired divisions of Su-27SK and now seek for the more advanced Russian equipment as the basis to improve PLA's overall combat capabilities, leading to the Project 934 - a "private" military exhibition at Beijing Nanyuan Airport. To conclude the project, it can be said that the project became a treasure box for almost all PLA branches with new equipment ranging from field air-defense systems, Project 956E DDGs, Su-30MKK, modernized artillery systems and namely, the interest on BMP-3. As the escalation of cross-strait conflicts after the election of new leaderships at Taiwan, to upgrade amphibious units which at the time has no IFV for landing supports, as well as serving as makeshift anti-tank vehicle against the M60A3 TTS and CM-11 fleet in ROCA, PLAGF officials approached Rostec with the interest on the BMP-3 with the best overall firepower among IFVs of the era and waterjet propulsion; although the introduction of BMP-3 was still a viable option, but engineers and officials found a major flaw which became the deal-breaker of the introduction of BMP-3: its unique, two-piece crew hatch which requires infantry to climb then aboard from the vehicle. But the introduction of 2K22 turret system was deemed more reliable, thus the system was introduced while NORINCO would install it onto newly-developed chassis under the code WZ502; an early prototype, ZBD97 was developed in 1997 and has been kept revising until its certification in December 2003 as the ZBD04, marking the completion of Chinese interpterion of BMP-3 and new IFVs for mechanized infantry brigades.
The Ultimate Solution - ZBD04A
To address a missing piece of ZBD04 - its protection, PLA issued the demand for a new IFV that retains identical turret system while vastly improving its protection. The weight and protection of the original ZBD04 also eliminated the options of applique armor or ERA packages, thus leading to the complete redesign of new IFV with a larger chassis while upgrading the protection rated for 30 mm autocannons at certain distance; amphibious capabilities was also retained but only rated for inland water bodies and rivers as the waterjet system was removed. The new IFV was first spotted in 2008 as "ZBD08" until the official statement issued in 2014's "Peace Mission 2014" exercise unrevealed the new IFV as ZBD04A.
Devblog
The ZBD-04 which has a fighting compartment from the Russian BMP-3 was developed in China in the late 1990s and began entering service in the early 2000s. The next model of this vehicle was the modernized ZBD-04A, featuring additional armor and improved electronics. This vehicle was first presented to the general public at a parade in 2015. Today, the ZBD-04A is in service with units and is the most modern vehicle of this class in the People’s Liberation Army of China.
Media
- Videos
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
| 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 |
- Ground vehicles
- China ground vehicles
- Seventh rank ground vehicles
- Light tanks
- Ground vehicles with smoke grenades
- Ground vehicles with engine smoke generating system
- Amphibious ground vehicles
- Ground vehicles with night vision device
- Ground vehicles with thermal sight
- Multi-weapon ground vehicles
- Ground vehicles with autoloader
- Ground vehicles with gun stabilizer
- ATGM vehicles
