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NORINCO ZBD-04A AT


Self-Propelled Anti-Tank Guided-Missile Carrier


China | 2008



"The ZBD-04A AT represents an anti-tank guided-missile carrying vehicle of the ZBD-04 tracked vehicle family for the army of China."

Flag of Image from the Chinese Ministry of Defense; Official press release.
Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 01/17/2022 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

The modern Chinese Army has placed a premium on self-propelled, armor-defeating solutions as showcased through a bevy of missile-carrying designs (the ZBL-08, ZBD-03, ZBD-04A, and ZBD-05 to name a few). These serve the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) vast mechanized forces . The ZBD-04A AT, the focus of this article, is the result of a mating between the ZBD-04 (Type 4) tracked chassis and the HJ-10 ("Red Arrow 10") Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) weapon system. The ZBD-04 AT maintains an active standing in the PLA ground force inventory of the Chinese military today (2020) and is a staple of annual Chinese military parades aimed at promoting patriotism locally and flexing local military muscle internationally.

Tank-killing remains a priority for most of the large global armies that include the United States, Russia, India, and China for their primary challengers would most likely field large masses of armored systems (tanks, IFVs, APCs) in the event of Total War. In today's volatile world, the primary challengers to China become the United States and neighboring India - who both have, on hand, thousands of tanks. As such, considerable investment has been made to provide the PLA with effective armor-defeating systems and solutions like the ZBD-04A AT.

With the ZBD-04A Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) tracked chassis as a starting point, the ZBD-04A AT missile carrier is given excellent on-road/off-road capabilities. The hull sports slab sides and a very-shallow glacis plate at front. The driver is positioned at front-left with the commander to his rear (placing the powerpack to the front right). Another crewman takes up a position next to the commander. Crewmen have access to individual access hatches over their respective positions and each work station is completed with thick vision blocks for basic situational awareness. Over the rear of the hull is installed the ATGM launcher unit consisting of twin quadruple launchers on a traversing/elevating mounting. This gives the vehicle exceptional engagement angles regardless of the direction of travel or facing of the hull.

A diesel-fueled engine drives power to the vehicle and its various systems. The running gear includes six rubber-tired road wheels to a track side with the drive sprocket situated at front and the track idler at the rear. This arrangement allows the ZBD-04A system to keep pace with the bulk of the Chinese mechanized forces.

The HJ-10 features a tandem, High-Explosive, Anti-Tank (HEAT) warhead capable of defeating modern armor protection schemes (including Explosive Reactive Armor - ERA - blocks) up to 1,400mm think at ranges out to six miles. The missile has spring-loaded fins and can be directed to the target by way of fiber optic or radar guidance. The missile is also used as an air-launched weapon from the Z-10, Z-11, and Z-19 helicopter platforms and the CASC "Rainbow" UAV as a tank-killing measure.

Content ©MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.
Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one land system design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the NORINCO ZBD-04A AT Self-Propelled Anti-Tank Guided-Missile Carrier.
1 x Diesel-fueled liquid-cooled engine developing 670 horsepower driving conventional track-and-wheel arrangement.
Installed Power
39 mph
62 kph
Road Speed
311 miles
500 km
Range
Structure
The physical qualities of the NORINCO ZBD-04A AT Self-Propelled Anti-Tank Guided-Missile Carrier.
3
(MANNED)
Crew
23.5 ft
7.15 meters
O/A Length
10.5 ft
3.2 meters
O/A Width
11.5 ft
3.5 meters
O/A Height
55,116 lb
25,000 kg | 27.6 tons
Weight
Armament & Ammunition
Available supported armament, ammunition, and special-mission equipment featured in the design of the NORINCO ZBD-04A AT Self-Propelled Anti-Tank Guided-Missile Carrier.
4 or 8 x AFT-10 (HJ-10) Anti-Tank Guided-Missiles (ATGMs) in single or twin quadruple launchers over the rear hull (installations vary).
8 x Smoke grenade dischargers.
AMMUNITION:
4 to 8 x AFT-10 (HJ-10) ATGMs.
8 x Smoke grenades.
Variants
Notable series variants as part of the NORINCO ZBD-04A AT family line.
ZBD-04A AT - Base Series Designation; ZBD-04 tracked vehicle chassis with AFT-10 missile launcher unit.
Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the NORINCO ZBD-04A AT. Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national land systems listing.

Total Production: 350 Units
Contractor(s): China NORth INdustries COmpany (NORINCO) - China
National flag of China

[ China ]
1 / 1
Image of the NORINCO ZBD-04A AT
Image from the Chinese Ministry of Defense; Official press release.

Similar
Developments of similar form-and-function, or related, to the NORINCO ZBD-04A AT Self-Propelled Anti-Tank Guided-Missile Carrier.
ZBD-04A
Going Further...
The NORINCO ZBD-04A AT Self-Propelled Anti-Tank Guided-Missile Carrier appears in the following collections:
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