- Yes
- No
G’day once again everyone, I’ll be suggesting a vehicle for the Chinese tech tree that would fit perfectly due to missing autocannon light tanks, and that vehicle would be the VN1 RWS!
Description:
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The VN1 is a wheeled armoured vehicle designed and manufactured in China by the Company NORINCO (North Industries Corporation) for the international military market. It is the export variant of the ZBL-09 (also called ZBD-09) 8x8 armoured vehicle personnel carrier. The VN1 is based on an 8x8 chassis and can be fitted with a weapon station up to a 105mm cannon or a 122mm howitzer. The VN1 can be fitted with a wide range of turret and weapon stations which can be remotely controlled from inside of the vehicle. Armament can include a 30mm automatic chain gun, Red Arrow 73 anti-tank guided missile system, and a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun. The layout of the VN1 is very similar to modern European wheeled combat vehicles with the driver at the front left, the power pack on its right, the weapon station in the middle of the top hull, and the troops compartment at the rear. The VN1 has several variants including a Command post variant, a Recovery variant, an Ambulance variant, the ST1 or ZTL09 which is fitted with a two-man turret armed with a NATO standard 105mm tank gun, and the PLL09 which is a self-propelled howitzer version armed with a 122 mm cannon. However the one I am suggesting has the RWS on it. This vehicle has been sold to several countries including Venezuela, Argentina, and Thailand. The VN1 continues to be a significant player in the international military market. Infact the VN1 RWS for Thailand themselves was suggested; you can find it here.
History:
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I’ll have to repeat some stuff from the description here because the VN1 history itself isn’t that large, but here we go. The VN1, also known as the ZBL-09 or Type 08, is a family of eight-wheeled amphibious, modular armored vehicles developed by Norinco. The development of the Type 08 vehicle family started in the 1990s as the successor to other aging Chinese wheeled vehicles. It was first seen in 2006, undergoing road tests.
China started to market the VN1 in 2008 and the vehicle was unveiled for the first time to the public in February 2009 during IDEX, the International Defense Exhibition in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
VN-1 has been sold to several countries including Venezuela, Argentina, and Thailand. In June 2017, the government of Thailand planned to purchase 34 VN1 wheeled armored vehicles from China.
Armaments:
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1 30mm ZPT-99 autocannon (same cannon the QN-506 carries!)
1 40mm grenade launcher
1 7.62mm machine gun
1 Red Arrow 73D/HJ-73D (unknown if any more are stored inside)
Mobility:
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The VN1 weights around 20 tons while it gets powered by the Deutz BF-6M 1015CP giving it around 440hp, which makes its top speed around 100km/h! Its length is around 8 meters, width: around 3.02 meters and its height is around 3.3 meters.
Electronics:
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The standout feature of the VN1 is the RWS, to be more specific however, its the UW4B RWS, which gives it the capabilities of carrying the weapons it is currently carrying! It also gives the capability of carrying smoke grenades.
(Thanks to DMYEugen for making me find this image! Can be found on the linked Thailand VN1 suggestion!)
Sources:
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Thanks a lot for reading! If anything else is missing, please put it in the replies below, have a nice day!