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TL;DR: A ZBD-86 equipped with an American turret and a 25mm Bushmaster.
History:
Prior to the 1970s, the US’s relationship with China wasn’t the best, often being confrontational or even hostile. This was due to China’s close working relationship with the Soviet Union. However, with the rise of Nikita Khrushchev, differences in ideology began to show and relations between the two nations suffered. This was only amplified by the Chinese Cultural Revolution, which denounced Soviet revisionism. Seeing the increasing tensions, the US saw an opportunity to better relations between itself and China, putting pressure onto the Soviet Union. This led to several private American companies teaming up with Chinese firms with the goal of producing military equipment for the overseas arms market. One of these projects was the NFV-1, a joint development project between NORINCO and FMC. “N” stood for NORINCO, “F” stood for FMC, and “V” stood for vehicle. The partnership was formalized in March of 1986 and work officially began in June. The resulting vehicle utilized the ZBD-86 (Type 86) chassis, provided by NORINCO, and the FMC Electric Drive Turret, provided by FMC. This turret housed an optionally stabilized M242 Bushmaster 25mm autocannon as well as a coaxial FN M240 machine gun. It was a one-man turret and utilized spaced laminate armor, however, the use of this turret meant that the HJ-73 ATGM could not be used. The NFV-1 was first publicly unveiled in November of 1986 at ASIANDEX’86 held in Beijing, where it was met with praise from the attendees. The NFV-1 endured extensive testing after the event and some unspecified improvements were made to the vehicle. It was shown off again at the November 1987 International Defense Exhibition in Egypt. Egyptian authorities were so impressed that they met with the design team and requested permission to test the vehicle themselves. All seemed to be going well for the NFV-1. That was until April, May, and June of 1989, the months that never happened, the Tiananmen Square Protests and Massacre. Following this event, the NFV-1 project, as well as all other US/China joint military projects, immediately halted due to the subsequent arms embargo. NORINCO withdrew from the NFV-1 program shortly after the embargo, leaving FMC to go it alone, however, FMC could no longer obtain the ZBD-86 chassis and withdrew as well. The sole NFV-1 prototype was likely scrapped.
Place In War Thunder:
Chinese/American military cooperation always results in very interesting products, some of which are prime War Thunder material. The NFV-1 is an example of such material. The M242 Bushmaster has proven itself to be very effective against both air and ground targets. Having this weapon on a Chinese vehicle would definitely be appealing to some. Playstyle of the vehicle would be fairly interesting as you don’t have as much mobility as most other autocannon carriers, however, due to being tracked, you’d have much better off-road maneuverability. Flanking would be the best course of action early game, which would allow for a few early kills on other flankers and unaware early MBTs. Since only a single NFV-1 was constructed, it’s highly unlikely to end up in the tech tree. This isn’t a bad thing, however, as being a premium means you don’t have to grind using subpar belts with subpar mobility. I feel like the best implementation of this vehicle would be through a Chinese themed Battlepass, as Battlepass vehicles are mostly variants of vehicles we already have in-game.
Specifications:
Armament: M242 Bushmaster 25mm autocannon and 1x FN M240 MG
Dimensions: 6.74m, 2.97m, 2.86m (L,W,H)
Weight: 13300kg
Armor: The hull armor is the same as the ZBD-86 currently in-game. The turret uses spaced laminate armor, giving it a maximum equivalent thickness of 14.5mm.
Crew: 3 (Commander, Gunner, and Driver)
Ammunition: Same as the M3 Bradley in-game.
Speed: 65kph (land) 7kph (water)
Horsepower: 298hp
Pictures:
Side View:Profiles:4-View Schematics:Schematic of the FMC Electric Drive Turret:
Sources
Type 86 Infantry Fighting Vehicle - Chinese PLA
Type 86 (infantry fighting vehicle) - Wikipedia
Jane’s Armour & Artillery 1985-86 by Christopher Foss