ZBD86
Contents
Description
The ZhuangJia BuBing LÜDai 86 is a rank V Chinese light tank with a battle rating of 7.7 (AB) and 8.0 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.91 "Night Vision".
A Chinese variant of the BMP-1, the ZBD86 is almost identical to the original Soviet version when stock, aside from the lack of rolled up canvas on the turret sides. But this vehicle has a hidden secret: as of Update "Raining Fire", the ahistorical BMP-1P modification has been replaced with the "ZBD86 Late". This equips it with the HJ-73E ATGM, a very powerful derivative of the original "Malyutka" with SACLOS control and a tandem warhead. As the ZBD86 is currently the last Chinese light tank in the game, the HJ-73E allows it to remain useful even when brought to higher battle ratings.
General info
Survivability and armour
The ZBD86 has very little to speak of in the armour department. Minimal frontal and nearly non-existent side armour results in the vehicle being vulnerable to almost any incoming fire. As such, the vehicle's survivability stems entirely from its mobility and reasonably small profile. Where possible, utilise hills or other cover, only exposing as much of the vehicle as is necessary to engage an unaware target.
Despite the lack of armour, however, the ZBD86 will, on occasion, survive hits unexpectedly - the internals of the vehicle are largely non-critical and many rounds will over-penetrate.
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 7-12 mm (80°) Front glacis 19 mm (56°) Lower glacis |
16 mm (3-18°) Top 18 + 4 mm Bottom |
16 mm (12°) Top 12 mm (48°) Bottom 12 mm (8-51°) Doors |
6 mm 5 mm Engine exhausts |
| Turret | 23 mm (0-53°) Turret front 33 + 26 mm Gun mantlet |
13-23 mm (24-37°) | 13 mm (23-26°) | 6 mm |
| Armour | Sides | Roof | ||
| Cupola | 7 mm | 7 mm |
Notes:
- Suspension wheels and tracks are 10 mm thick.
- Belly armour is 6 mm thick.
Mobility
| Game Mode | Max Speed (km/h) | Weight (tons) | Engine power (horsepower) | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | Reverse | Stock | Upgraded | Stock | Upgraded | ||
| Arcade | 73 | 12 | 13 | 465 | 572 | 35.77 | 44 |
| Realistic | 66 | 11 | 265 | 300 | 20.38 | 23.08 | |
The ZBD86's mobility is reasonably good, although somewhat lacking relative to other IFVs. Despite that, once it gets moving it can travel at a decent pace.
Be aware when attempting flanking maneuvers and early pushes that there are vehicles with better mobility characteristics, and in many cases you'll encounter a vehicle before reaching a desirable position.
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
The modules and stock grind of the ZBD86 are very similar to the BMP-1. Note that the ZBD86 Late modification upgrades the ATGM and adds smoke grenades, as on the BMP-1P, but does not remove the autoloader. The smoke grenades are mounted on the turret cheeks, three per side, instead of residing behind the turret as on the BMP-1P.
Armaments
Main armament
The 2A28 main cannon is a somewhat finicky weapon. The penetration of the PG-9 HEAT round is no higher than the Type 62's HEAT-FS but the muzzle velocity of 665 m/s is lower, making it difficult to use at long range. Still, the gun reloads in only 6 seconds and has an autoloader. It can be quite lethal at close quarters with careful aim. It will also cause hull-breaks against light targets at any distance. Keep in mind that the ZBD86 does not feature any sort of stabilisation at all, and due to its light weight the gun is near impossible to get on target at speed.
There is essentially no reason to use the HE round. Its muzzle velocity is an abysmal 290 m/s and it actually has less explosive content than the HEAT round, making it useless against armored targets and a poor choice for hull breaking.
| 73 mm 2A28 | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 40 | -4°/+30° | ±180° | N/A | 19.04 | 26.35 | 32.00 | 35.39 | 37.65 | 6.00 | 6.00 | 6.00 | 6.00 |
| Realistic | 11.90 | 14.00 | 17.00 | 18.80 | 20.00 | ||||||||
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 | ||
| PG-9 | HEAT | 300 | 300 | 300 | 300 | 300 | 300 |
| OG-9 | HE | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| Shell details | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile Mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | ||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | |||||||
| PG-9 | HEAT | 665 | 2.6 | 0.05 | 0.1 | 1,130 | 65° | 72° | 77° |
| OG-9 | HE | 290 | 3.7 | 0 | 0.1 | 735 | 79° | 80° | 81° |
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|
| 40 | 1 (+39) | No |
The single ammunition rack consists of a shell barillet located around the turret basket.
Additional armament
HJ-73
The ZBD86 comes with a rail-mounted manually-guided ATGM as stock, initially aimed manually and with somewhat mediocre penetration and explosive mass values. While occasionally useful, generally the main gun is easier and more reliable. Use it at long range against enemies who are not paying attention or to finish off a crippled target while the main gun is reloading. It does not have enough penetration to bypass ERA.
4 x HJ-73 ATGM
- Guidance type: MCLOS
- Firing range: 3 km
HJ-73E
Once the ZBD-86 Late upgrade is researched, the HJ-73 ATGM is replaced with a HJ-73E. Despite the new ATGM retaining the rail-mount, it is significantly more powerful and easier to use due to its semi-automatic guiding system. It penetrates more than twice as much as the original HJ-73 due to the tandem-charge warhead, at the cost of a decrease in explosive mass. This will go clean through almost any target that the ZBD86 can encounter, even those equipped with ERA or composite armor. It has enough penetration to go through the turret cheek of the M1 Abrams!
Keep in mind that the ATGM can only be fired when stopped or at extremely low speeds. It also travels more slowly at 130 m/s compared to the 205 m/s of the BMP-1P's 9M113 ATGM.
4 x HJ-73E ATGM (ZBD-86 Late)
- Guidance type: SACLOS
- Firing range: 3 km
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 | ||
| HJ-73 | ATGM | 400 | 400 | 400 | 400 | 400 | 400 |
| HJ-73E | ATGM (tandem) | 900 | 900 | 900 | 900 | 900 | 900 |
| Shell details | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile Mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | ||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | |||||||
| HJ-73 | ATGM | 120 | 10.90 | N/A | 0.1 | 2,600 | 80° | 82° | 90° |
| HJ-73E | ATGM (tandem) | 130 | 12.50 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 1,830 | 80° | 82° | 90° |
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 3 (+1) | 1 (+3) | No |
The missiles are listed from M1 to M4. M2 is the 1st rack. M3-M4 constitutes the 2nd rack.
Machine guns
The ZBD86 comes equipped with a coaxial 7.62 mm PKT machine gun. This is only useful for clearing small obstacles or exposed crew in open-top vehicles.
| 7.62 mm PKT | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Coaxial | 2,000 (1,000) | 700 | N/A | N/A |
Usage in battles
Some experience with the previous Type 62 will transfer to the ZBD86. Both are armed with HEAT rounds, have similar mobility, and are best used in ambushes. The ZBD86 enjoys a significantly faster reload, better turret rotation speed, and powerful ATGMs to supplement the main gun. However, the ZBD86 has poorer defensive properties since it's a larger target, has worse gun depression, and is vulnerable to hull break. It is even more important to maintain stealth and good positioning, but on the bright side it can unleash a lot of pain onto its victims upon a successful attack.
The ZBD86 is a shoot-and-scoot type of vehicle as an exposed ZBD86 is a dead ZBD86 - avoid being a target at all costs. Use your mobility to find reasonable sniping spots for the ATGM that have a good view and cover to hide behind. The cannon is helpful at close quarters, where targeting crew members and ammo racks is easy, but is difficult to aim at medium or long range. Remember that if anything sees you, it can destroy you - even a .50 cal will make quick work of the ZBD86 from the sides or back. Retreat back into cover while reloading and be careful if you have damaged a target without crippling them; once an enemy knows your position, it becomes far easier for them to destroy you.
Keep an eye out for light tanks and SPAAs. Since the ZBD86 has no shortage of chemical munitions, hull-breaking light targets is quite easy and does not require pinpoint aim. Vehicles equipped with stabilized autocannons like the Falcon, Gepard, or M3 Bradley can easily maul the thinly-protected ZBD86, so do not pop out in plain sight and do your best to hull-break them in one shot.
The HJ-73E is an enticing weapon since its tandem warhead and extremely high penetration will make short work of any vehicle it meets. ERA-equiped tanks like the Magach 3, Sho't Kal Dalet, and Centurion Mk.5 AVRE, which the original BMP-1 might struggle with, can be given a very rude surprise. Unfortunately, it travels slowly and is mounted on an upward-tilted launch rail like the basic HJ-73, which make it inconvenient to use at both close quarters and long range. Keep a healthy distance of at least ~200 meters from your target before launching the ATGM. For long distance engagements, try to use the HJ-73E against targets that are either immobile and not paying attention or exposed in the open without much cover. It is also important to stay close to cover yourself while launching the ATGM, as attentive enemies can deduce your location and guiding the missile requires staying in the line-of-sight and thus being at least partially exposed for the flight duration.
If used with the Chinese 8.0 lineup, the ZBD86 can still deal with many of the tanks it encounters, though the lack of a stabilizer becomes a greater issue. One opponent to keep an eye out for AMX-30B2 BRENUS. The BRENUS's ERA would normally be easily penetrated by the HJ-73E but the tank is equipped with an IRCM system shining in the direction of the turret front that jams the HJ-73E's SACLOS guidance. The ZBD86's main gun will do little against the BRENUS in most areas, so it's best to leave this target for teammates to deal with. Of course, if the BRENUS is not looking in your direction, the IRCM will not do anything.
Be very careful of aircraft, as the boxy ZBD86 is easy to spot from above. With only 6-7 mm of roof armor, it's trivial for contemporary planes to riddle it with holes. Bombs and rockets will easily cause hull breaks as well. When planes are around, take advantage of the smoke grenades and ESS to mask your position when necessary. If there are buildings and trees to hide among, even better.
As of 1.91, the ZBD86 can research NVD, which can help during night battles to help with visibility. NVD is available in commander, gunner, driver and outside viewports. Once purchased, the NVD modification also allows the use of a infrared spotlight to help illuminate targets if they are hard to see. However, it is mounted to the hull, and as such will require the hull to be rotated to illuminate anything.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Good mobility
- One of the earliest ATGM vehicles available and the earliest to receive mouse-guided (SACLOS) ATGMs
- Amphibious ability allows it to reach positions that other vehicles struggle to
- Functional in uptiers due to its high-penetrating ATGMs and HEAT rounds
- All ammunition types are default and as such have no cost
- HJ-73E ATGM has extremely high penetration for its rank, skewers even ERA equipped tanks
- Night vision allows it to be used in night battles
Cons:
- Mediocre reverse speed for a light tank
- Vulnerable to hull breaks, particularly from HEAT-FS rounds
- Chemical ammunition only, may struggle to damage vehicles with ERA like the Centurion Mk.5 AVRE without the HJ-73E
- All available ammunition is hyper-sensitive and will detonate on hitting light obstacles such as fences or bushes
- Somewhat large silhouette for a light tank
- Poor gun depression
- No stabilizer
- Only three crew members, the commander and driver are clustered together
- Vulnerable to heavy machine gun and light cannon fire, particularly from the sides or top
- Very vulnerable to aircraft, helicopters, and artillery
- Infrared spotlight mounted to hull, won't rotate with turret when NVD is on
- HJ-73E is tilted upwards which severely limits its close quarter combat capacity as the missile cannot hit targets too close
History
Development
In the 1950's, Soviet armored personnel carrier (APC) tactics consisted of lightly armored vehicles that would transport soldiers to combat zones, and then head back behind the lines to safety. During this time, the West German Bundeswehr was using the Schützenpanzer Lang and infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) tactics, where the vehicles would work with the infantry and tanks in order to support them, especially against lightly armored targets. The BMP was a Soviet IFV design created in the late 1950's. Some of the requirements were the ability for all of the infantry carried to be able to fire from within the vehicle, which was unseen before in IFV designs. It was intended to support the infantry and combat enemy light vehicles. The design placed emphasis on speed and maneuverability, potent armament, and sufficient armament to protect against 23 mm autocannons over the frontal arc. There was a debate over how the vehicle should be wheeled or tracked, and a number of options were explored including hybrid designs with both. The design that was chosen was a tracked vehicle with the engine in the front and the crew compartment in the rear; it was designated the Object 764. A prototype was created in 1964, and the final design was chosen in 1965 - an improved model called the Object 765. In service the production model was called the BMP-1.
Design
The BMP-1 features a fully tracked hull, with a sharply angled glacis at the front, a centrally mounted turret, and a crew compartment in the rear of the hull, with doors for the infantry to mount and dismount the vehicle. The hull layout is as follows: the engine was in the front right section of the hull. The driver sat to the front left of the vehicle, the commander sat right behind the driver, and the gunner sat in the right side of the turret. The troop compartment located at the rear of the vehicle could seat 8 infantry soldiers. The ability to fire from inside the vehicle was provided by four firing ports on each side of the hull and one in the left door. There are also four hatches in the roof. The infantry sit on two benches with padding, back to back, facing the outer sides of the vehicle. The armor of the frontal arc is enough to generally protect against 20 mm autocannon fire, the side armor generally protects against 12.7 mm machine gun fire, and the roof and rear armor protects against small arms fire and shell fragments. In addition, the sloped glacis on the front of the hull also increased the chances of shells bouncing, because of the extreme angles. The protection level depended somewhat on the version of the BMP-1 in question, as different nations had differing levels of armor quality. The main armament consisted of a 73 mm 2A28 Grom smoothbore semi-automatic cannon, along with a 9M14 Malyutka anti-tank guided missile (ATGM). Secondary armament consisted of a 7.62 mm PKT machine gun. The engine provides 300 hp, and is a six-cylinder four-stroke diesel engine. The suspension system used was a torsion bar suspension system. The BMP-1 is fully amphibious with little preparation. Before entering the water a trim vane has to be raised, which provides additional frontal armor when in the lowered position. It can achieve 65 kph (40 mph) on road and 8 kph (5 mph) in water.
Production and Service
Over 20,000 BMP-1's were produced in the Soviet Union alone, with many more produced in China and Czechoslovakia. The BMP-1 was widely exported and saw significant combat worldwide. BMP-1's participated in the Yom Kippur War, the Angolan Civil War, the Iran-Iraq War, the Gulf War, and many other conflicts. It was well liked for its maneuverability, but it was found that the cannon lacked effective range and the 9M14 ATGM's were hard to control. During the Gulf War it was found that the 25 mm Bushmaster cannon found on the M2/M3 Bradley could consistently penetrate the frontal armor of the BMP-1, even at range.
Chinese Service
The People's Republic of China produced many Soviet vehicles such as the Type 59/T-54 and J-6/MiG-19 under license during its early years, when relations with the Soviet Union were cordial. However, the Sino-Soviet split starting from the early 1960s significantly toned down the cooperation between the two countries. When the BMP-1 first entered service around 1968, the Soviet Union was unwilling to share this new and novel vehicle with China. The BMP-1 was exported to numerous Soviet client states however, and some of these countries like Egypt were on good terms with China. A BMP-1 example was delivered to China from Egypt in the early 1980s and the design was subsequently reverse engineered into the ZBD 86, also known as "Type 86", entering service with the PLA in 1986. The original ZBD 86 model was mostly identical to the BMP-1, featuring a copy of the 9M14 Malyutka ATGM called the "HJ-73", but since almost two decades had passed since the BMP-1's original introduction, the design was in need of improvements. The "NFV-1" variant was designed for export in collaboration with the American FMC company, featuring a 25 mm M242 Bushmaster cannon in a redesigned turret. The NFV-1 did not enter service, but Chinese designers learned from the project that for IFVs, autocannons were significantly more practical than the original 73 mm low-velocity cannon. Subsequent models were all armed with autocannons. The ZBD 86-I was the first updated variant to enter mass production and was equipped with the same M242 cannon in an unusual overhead turret, apparently lacking ATGM capability, along with a more powerful engine. The modernized "ZBD 86A" variant used a 30 mm 2A42 cannon much like the BMP-2 in an angular and more traditional turret that could once more mount upgraded versions of the HJ-73. Over 3,000 ZBD 86s have been produced and over 1,000 are still in service today. However, they have been supplanted in recent years by more advanced Chinese IFVs such as the ZBD-04 series, which boast much better protection and armament.
Media
- Skins
- 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
Bibliography
- David B. (2015, December 1). BMP-1. Tank Encyclopedia. https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/coldwar/USSR/soviet_BMP-1.php
- BMP-1. (2020, March 25). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=BMP-1&oldid=947316322
| 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 |
