ST4 Wheeled Assault Gun

Clayman233 · June 22, 2025, 4:53pm

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ST-4

Hello everyone! Welcome to the proposal of the ST4, a kind of wheeled assault gun developed by Norinco specifically for export. Even though its chassis has been around for a long time, this vehicle didn’t appear on the scene until 2024. Its features and positioning are very similar to the VN22B, which has been noted before, but upgraded in some ways. Due to the short time this vehicle has been on display, information on its turret is still limited. If you have more detailed information please feel free to comment.

History

Based on the WZ551 chassis, WMA301 with 105 guns was the very first Chinese export 6×6 wheeled assault gun. During its history of being sold as a product, it was exported to many countries for its low cost, high shell compatibility and excellent mobility, and achieved remarkable results in the military sales market.

WMA301 in a parade in Myanmar

The 21st century saw a period of rapid development in Chinese automotive technology, with the Army developing and equipping the ZBL08 wheeled chassis at the turn of the century. Norinco’s goal at this time was not limited to the export of low-priced assault guns, and the company began to develop and market various types of wheeled/tracked assault guns. This range of vehicles is generally prefixed with the ‘ST’ designation. One example is the ST1, which uses the ZBL08 chassis and a new 105mm turret, a modified version of which, the ST-1BR, participated in the Brazilian Army’s 2022 vehicle tender and lost out to Centauro. In its attempts to export the 8×8 wheeled assault gun series, Norinco never met a customer willing to purchase large quantities due to their unimpressive technical specifications and the fact that they were not as economical as the WMA301. The situation changed only when Norinco resolved to develop a high-performance export wheeled chassis to compete at the top end of the market.

ST1 /ST1-BR

The wheeled chassis called VN22 was unveiled at the Zhuhai Airshow 2021. This vehicle uses hydraulic suspension, all-wheel steering, and a variety of other advanced technologies, and has an 800-horsepower engine. It is fitted with large additional armour plates at the top, bottom and sides, and has a distinctly mine-resistant design, making the VN22 considerably heavier than past Chinese wheeled vehicles.

VN22 with 30mm turret

As with other wheeled chassis, Norinco attempted to retrofit the VN22 chassis with a 105mm line-bored gun. The turret was transplanted from the WMA301 and an armour kit was added to it, which made it completely superior to the WMA301 in terms of protection. This assault gun was eventually named the VN22B. Export orders were quickly received after its introduction. Currently, the Senegalese Gendarmerie and the Ivorian forces are known to be equipped with the VN22B.As a fully upgraded version of the WMA301, the market has responded to the VN22B much better than to the previous ST series of assault guns.

VN22B in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire

Due to the success of the VN22 in the market, we could see various models of the improved VN22 on display at the Zhuhai Airshow in 2024. These even include the VN23 wheeled assault gun armed with a 125mm main gun.A new wheeled assault gun equipped with a new 105mm turret, which was dynamically displayed alongside it, also garnered a lot of attention.

Contrary to many speculations based on the VN22B nomenclature, this new assault gun is named ST4, which means it is an extension of the Chinese export assault gun. We can observe that its fire control has been fully upgraded, with the addition of the same 12.7mm weapon station as the VT4 on the turret, and a separate optronics unit for the captain. It is clear that these upgrades are aimed at moving the ST4 away from the weapon system of its predecessor and aiming for a more advanced market. From a commercial point of view, we can speculate that this improved version also appeared so quickly due to the sales results of the VN22B.

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ST4 in the air show

In War Thunder

Although this description may not be accurate, the ST4 can be seen as a fully upgraded version of the WMA301 both in reality and in-game, with better fire control, protection and manoeuvrability, which gives it the ability to compete with the game’s advanced wheeled carriers. Currently, the ZLT11 is far from satisfactory in many aspects of the Chinese tech tree in the game. Adding vehicles such as the ST4 and VN23 will help China solve the problem of not having a “good” wheeled vehicle.

Spefications

Crew: 4

Mass: ~26 t

Main armament:

105 mm rifled gun

Secondary armament:

7.62 mm Type 86 & 12.7 mm QJC

Engine: 800 hp

Accessories:

12× Smoke Grenade Launchers

Two-way Stabilizer

hydraulic suspension