ZBD86

ZBD86

ZTS63

M41D

ZBD86

ZTS63

M41D

China

V Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
7.7	7.7	7.7

Class:

Light tank

Research:53 000

Purchase:300 000

Show in game

Description

The ZhuangJia BuBing LÜDai 86 is a rank V Chinese light tank with a battle rating of 7.7 (AB/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 tiers.

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 your ATGM) and only use your cannon if an enemy is close and unaware of your presence. 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.

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	13	13	465	572	35.77	44
Realistic	66	12		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.

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. 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.

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

Ammo racks of the ZBD86

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 to use.

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 basic 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

Ammo racks of the ZBD86

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

The ZBD86, just like the BMP-1, is quite distinctive due to its oddly-shaped hull. The vehicle is crewed by only three (no commander), but is very spacious, so shots from the side occasionally cause minimal or even no damage. However, with only 23 mm AT MOST protecting the tank, it's a safe bet that hull breaks will be plentiful, especially when facing enemies equipped with APFSDS or HEAT. The ZBD86 is equipped with a short-barreled 73 mm gun (an odd calibre) firing exclusively anti-tank grenades. The projectile drop is extreme, albeit not the worst in-game, and it can be used to great effect against many of the vehicles the ZBD86 will face due to the consistent 300mm of penetration at range. The standard PG-9 ammunition has an explosive mass of about 1.25 kg. The trade-off, in this case, is the low velocity and relatively poor slope characteristics (the penetration drop in half if more than 60 degrees of slope). Finally, as standard, the ZBD86 is equipped with the 9M14 ATGM, capable of penetrating 400mm and carrying an explosive mass of 2.6 kg. It is WASD guided, and therefore somewhat tricky to use at first (and especially difficult to use in high packet-loss or high ping matches). An optional modification for the ZBD86 allows it to use turret-mounted smoke grenades as well as a next-generation missile, the 9M113. The ZBD86 (as of 1.77.2.149) is the earliest vehicle in-game to be able to use a SACLOS (mouse-guided) system for an ATGM. Not only is the missile nearly twice as fast as the 9M14, but it carries a notably larger explosive payload, and can penetrate up to 600 mm at 90 degrees at any range. 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.

Modules

Tier	Mobility		Protection	Firepower
I	Tracks		Parts	Horizontal Drive	NVD
II	Suspension	Brake System	FPE	Adjustment of Fire	Airstrike
III	Filters		Crew Replenishment	Elevation Mechanism	ZBD86 Late
IV	Transmission	Engine	ESS	Artillery Support	Improved optics

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.

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 even 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, to the point of overkill
• Night vision allows it to be used in night battles

Cons:

• Mediocre reverse speed, particularly 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 M60A1 RISE (P) 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.

BMP-1P Upgrade

The BMP-1P was an upgrade to the ATGM systems of the BMP-1. It replaced the 9M14 Malyutka missiles with 9M113 Konkurs or 9M111 missile. This increased the weight of the vehicle, leading to a slight decrease in maneuverability.

Chinese Service

China produced their own version of the BMP-1 called the ZBD 86, also known as Type 86. They produced a total of over 3,000 Type 86 vehicles of different variants. Over 1,000 are still in service today.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the ZBD86 from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

Amphibious tanks discusses the ZBD86 at 5:15 - War Thunder Official Channel

Best IFVs discusses the ZBD86 at 0:29 - 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

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