QN506
Contents
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 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.
General info
Survivability and armour
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 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 flat frontal plate and the fragile unmanned turret are huge weak spots that can get penetrated by autocannons and disable QN506 to fight back. The ERAs on the upper glacis could help QN506 survive a few shots from HEATFS, yet it's still far from capable to stop any tandem ATGM or large-calibre APFSDS around its BR from killing the whole 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.
Armour type:
- Rolled homogeneous armour (hull, turret)
- 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 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.
- Additional armour plates are 10 mm thick.
Mobility
The QN506 retains the 12V150L engine identical to the ZTZ59s; 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.
| 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
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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|
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Armaments
Main armament
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.
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.
| 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 | __._ | __._ | __._ | __._ | __._ | _.__ | _.__ | _.__ | _.__ |
| Realistic | __._ | __._ | __._ | __._ | __._ | |||||||||
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 are pretty useless against both tanks and planes, 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 proximity fuse and relatively low amount of projectile density decrease its performance.
- 30 mm APDS: APDS · APDS · APDS · APDS - 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-FS: APFSDS · APFSDS · APFSDS - 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.
| 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
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, 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 the enemy IRCM with your autocannon before launching QN201DDs.
Besides the anti-tank role, this ATGM is also capable to act as a makeshift 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 fuse or decent maximum overload. You cannot guide multiple QN201DDs at once or launch it on the move, either.
| 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 |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
5th rack empty |
6th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ |
Additional armament
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 resistant to flares and HIRSS. It can also lock the aircraft in instant within 8 km of effective range without triggering MAW.
Despite its brilliant firepower, the QN502CDD is quite challenging to use in practice. The awful -5° 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's 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 the right spot and neutralize your enemy.
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.
| 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 |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
5th rack empty |
6th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ |
Machine guns
The 7.62 mm MG is only effective against light vehicles with open compartments. 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.
| 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 won't trigger the LWS of the locked hostile aircraft, increasing 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.
| 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 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 turret and volatile ATGM launchers. Besides, the QN506 lacks any efficient measure to kill a MBT from the front except for 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 a tiny part of the vehicle exposed. The underperforming engine and mediocre depression also limit its capability to flank and manoeuvre across the maps.
With the electro-optical targeting system, the QN506 is capable to shoot down helicopters and careless jets with its powerful weapons. However, all of its armaments lack proximity fuse to be a professional SPAA. On occasion, you may use QN502CDD to hunt helicopters when they sneak attack your team and immediately hide behind hills.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- 4 fire-and-forget IR missiles have high penetration (1000mm) and long range
- 20 beam-riding missiles for taking out enemy targets from the sides
- High-definition TVD cameras and retractable CITV
- Opto-electronic tracker for taking out aerial targets
- Sufficiently fast turret traverse speed
Cons:
- Rather low mobility as a light tank at its rank
- Insufficient protection against common rounds at its rank
- Relatively huge as a "light tank"
- QN201DD has insufficient penetration for targets with composite armour/ERA
- Low RoF for the autocannon
- Slow -7km/h reverse speed and poor -5° gun depression
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
Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.
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
| 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
- Gift ground vehicles
- Ground vehicles with explosive reactive armour
- Ground vehicles with smoke grenades
- Ground vehicles with night vision device
- Ground vehicles with thermal sight
- Multi-weapon ground vehicles
- Ground vehicles with gun stabilizer
- ATGM vehicles
