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Introduction: Howdy Yall! Today ill be talking about the VN-1 with a 30mm unmanned turret(UW4B) that’s currently in service with the Royal Thai army, as its one of the few operational variants of the VN-1 that has a decent amount of publicly available material to look at. I want to be clear that i am not against China or other Nations getting variants of the VN-1, but this post is specifically talking about the VN-1 in service with the Thai Army.
History:
Type 08: in the late 90’s China had realized it had a lack of modern wheeled platforms, and a desirer to keep its mechanized forces on the cutting edge of modern warfare. To fill this gap, China began development on a armored 4x4 wheeled APC, that would also be used as a base for many other variants and support vehicles. by 2008, the ‘Type 08’ had been put into service, and just as quickly so did the ZBD-08, a variant with a manned 30mm turret, for self defense and Infantry cover.
While there’s nothing extraordinary about the Type 08, its was the perfect combination of protection, mobility, and versatility to launch it into success within the PLA military, with over 6000 hulls being built to serve multiple roles.
VN-1: Naturally with success comes the desire to capitalize on it, and in February of 2009, China unveiled the VN-1 for export at the International Defense Exhibition in Abu Dhabi. The VN-1 itself is based off an IFV derivative of the Type 08, the ZBD-09, however this too has several possible variants.
Thai Service: By 2017, Thailand had officially placed an order for 38 VN-1 IFV’s, equipped with a remote weapon system. By 2019, these vehicles had been delivered to the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, and are in service to this day.
Specifications---------------
Mobility:
Engine Deutz BF6M1015C diesel 11.9 litre
440 hp (330 kW)
Transmission semi-automatic
Maximum speed 100 km/h
Power to Weight: 20.95
Protection:
12.7mm protection from sides
25mm protection from front at 1000 meters
8X Smoke grenade launchers
Weapons:
1X 7.62mm machine gun
1X HJ-73C ATGM
1X ZPT-99 30mm Autocannon
1X 35mm QLZ 04 Grenade launcher
Gen 2 thermals for Gunner and TC
Interior pics:
Spoiler
In War Thunder: In game the VN-1 would serve as a advanced light tank, trying to use its good optics to spot targets, but having to use its ok mobility to flank enemy’s to both avoid taking hits, and putting its 30mm to good use. the 35mm grenade launcher offers some potential kills as well, thanks to its HEAT shell, but would still be irrelevant in many situations thanks to its low velocity. Overall would probably end up at 9.3 like other modern wheeled vehicles in game.
Sources:
http://eng.mod.gov.cn/xb/News_213114/TopStories/4856289.html
