The ground units of the People's Liberation Army of China are successfully mastering the ZBD-04A infantry fighting vehicle. This BMP, according to many military experts, can currently be considered one of the best in the world. According to some reports, the troops could already have received about 400 vehicles of this modification. They are used extensively during exercises of various sizes.
This BMP is a kind of symbiosis of technologies from several countries. The basis of firepower is the famous "Troichatka" developed in Russia - a combat module with a 100-mm gun-launcher mounted in a single mask for firing projectiles and guided missiles, a 30-mm automatic cannon and a 7.62-mm machine gun.
This weapon system has proven itself well on the Russian BMP-3. I also liked it in China, where they bought a license for its production and installed it on the new Chinese BMP ZBD-04, which was put into service in 2004.
The experience of operating armored vehicles in the army led to the appearance of modification "A", which differs from the original version in more powerful modular armor, an improved fire control system with thermal imaging channels for aiming the gunner-operator and the commander's panoramic sight. To improve living conditions, an air conditioner was installed in the stern of the car.
It is assumed that the weight of the car is close to 25 tons. The capacity was three crew members and a reduced infantry squad. The maximum speed on the chase is up to 70 km / h. The power reserve is 500 km.
The Chinese claimed that their BMP is an entirely national development. However, a number of military experts believe that the Russian side provided significant assistance, and technical solutions that later appeared on promising domestic technology were first tested on this armored vehicle from the Middle Kingdom. Therefore, ZBD-04A is very often called "Kurgan" in Chinese.
