The turret is remote controlled?
I think there would soon be a new generation of IFV for the PLA on the way, it has being precedents for export vehicles to lay the foundation of new generation of service IFVs.
According to an old
from the Year of Our Lord, Two thousand and Sixteen. The turret is unmanned. That was at the China Airshow 16 mounted on the VP10 platform.
IFV, technically yes...but at the same time. Well the turret perhaps will be fielded wider the vehicle falls into a rather new doctrinal shift taking place.
Right now the trends seem to be that you have armored forces with MBT and IFV, tracked ACPs, MRAPS class Utility vehicles. That’s your heavy.
then you have Mechanized Infantry with 8x8s including vehicles like this With IFV class turrets MRAPS class utility vehicles That’s medium. (See Stryker BTC and Strike Brigades (Boxer)
Finally light infantry with thin skinned vehicles dropped by aircraft with light armor assets to augment them. Airborne.
These 8x8s don’t quite match up to true IFVs, they skimp on kinetic armor and the additional firepower of ATGMs to favor mobility.
This though allows them to move very fast carry the boots more comfortably. The latter may sound odd but troops whom are less stressed can travel longer and fight better at the other end of the trip. The added firepower can be used to support them like a tank or IFV in a heavy brigade. That also means they can be strategically transported faster as they tend to be lighter, although the latest ones at 35 tones loose this to a degree, not being attached to MBT units does still allow air transport at a faster rate.
You can say “Buts that’s the West”. Yet given how we have seen these 8x8s and the conservative nature of the PLA it seems to fit. Consider that although we have seen these 8x8s in large numbers we also have seen a plethora of upgraded and new tracked IFVs, Yes some are amphibious yet others have traded off of that Amphibious capacity for armor.
