Chinese infantry fighting vehicles

We are in a middle of transition to next gen ground combat platform, we will see alot of ideas and protype being tested.
but in essence this is as big of a leap as the transition the end of WW2 was.
My opinion is just the different requiments and trade offs will make the new family a split platforms of about 40ton each.
These days a armored company making contact with the enemy need
- high caliber direct fire ,
- autocannon for the infanty
- cheap Anti Air
- indrect fire /loitering munation/drone munition
- unmanned ground and air vehicle forming a sensor and skirmish line

Best guess it would take atleast 3 types of viehicle mix in a platton , maybe 4, so let the engineers play, we will see many interesting design and ideas thorwn around and built , that just part of the figuring out how to do a network centric warfare.

Do we have a mapping table that organizes the relationships between different PLA turrets and chassis?

Strange ZBD-04 spotted

Tomboy said:

View attachment 168131
Strange ZBD-04 spotted

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Assuming this is real, and isn't an export oriented system and intended for the PLA/PLAGF, it seems to me like a more simple, "modern" armored and mass produceable IFV based on the ZBD-04 to replace older IFVs and be the standard one. The Type 100 IFV is likely expensive and much more complex, and won't be produced in such mass numbers to be fielded throughout units.

Tomboy said:

View attachment 168131
Strange ZBD-04 spotted

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I wonder if this shares the main gun with the ZBD-100

TheWanderWit said:

Assuming this is real, and isn't an export oriented system and intended for the PLA/PLAGF, it seems to me like a more simple, "modern" armored and mass produceable IFV based on the ZBD-04 to replace older IFVs and be the standard one. The Type 100 IFV is likely expensive and much more complex, and won't be produced in such mass numbers to be fielded throughout units.

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Type 100 IFV isn't actually a IFV though, we have not seen a IFV from the 100 family. It's a fire support vehicle with not much space for troops despite being able to carry some.

Tomboy said:

Type 100 IFV isn't actually a IFV though, we have not seen a IFV from the 100 family. It's a fire support vehicle with not much space for troops despite being able to carry some.

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Yeap, Type 100 isn't even called IFV in Chinese , it is called support vehicle (支援车).
In context , for English the accurate term will probably be tank companion,

Though it unlikely that we will get a Type 100 chasis based IFV just for the weight , for fuel logistics reasons a 40t IFV just will cost to much fuel to run, runing a armored force that is 100% made off 40t platforms are not economical.
let say you do want a 100% 40t platforms,for every tank you need about 1.5X IFV , for every tracked vehicle you need 3X in trucks.
It would mean giving each armord brigade about twice as much trucks just to keep the force supplied, that would make a armord brigde with around 600 8wheelers,instead of 300-ish 8 wheels trucks that a ABC have today,the trade off is just not worth the cost.

These day a armored force is about 60% IFV and IFV based utility tracked vehicle, and only 30% tanks.
IFV still need to be it's own 20t-25t chassis , but that IFV sure can take alot of the technology that Type 100 has , like maybe a scaled down version of the Engine.

wssth0306 said:

These day a armored force is about 60% IFV and IFV based utility tracked vehicle, and only 30% tanks.
IFV still need to be it's own 20t-25t chassis , but that IFV sure can take alot of the technology that Type 100 has , like maybe a scaled down version of the Engine.

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Chassis weight for the Type 100 tank is allegedly only 25t, with a less powerful engine and armor it could possibly be even less.

Tomboy said:

Chassis weight for the Type 100 tank is allegedly only 25t, with a less powerful engine and armor it could possibly be even less.

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I will say that I highly doubt it , cause a suspension for 20t tracked and a suspension for 40t tracked are not the same , just see the examples of how problematic it was for the Germans, or how the british AJAX IFV is doing.
Doubling the chassis weight is not a smart thing to do.

wssth0306 said:

I will say that I highly doubt it , cause a suspension for 20t tracked and a suspension for 40t tracked are not the same , just see the examples of how problematic it was for the Germans, or how the british AJAX IFV is doing.
Doubling the chassis weight is not a smart thing to do.

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iirc, Type 100 is a special case as it should be designed for heavy addon armor that increases it's combat weight to 35t+ from the beginning unlike Ajax which effectively grew fatter as they got further along. Which IMO really isn't a surprisingly considering from what we've seen Type 100 is a highly modular chassis that is basically designed around all these different addon and modifications.