Wednesday, December 03, 2008

ZBD97

Also Known As
Type 97

Origin
China

Description: The ZBD97, also known as Type 97, is an Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) designed to be deployed along Type 96 and Type 99 main battle tanks in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) armored units. Typically Chinese-made IFVs feature thin armor and scarce firepower. The fully-tracked ZBD97 was developed on the basis of the Russian-made BMP-3 fighting vehicle in the late 1990s. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) first deployed the ZBD97 in the early 2000s. Overall, ZBD97 outperforms many Western-made IFVs in terms of firepower.

The ZBD97 is provided with a two-man turret equipped with a 100mm semi-automatic rifled gun with autoloader which is capable of firing laser-guided missile rounds; a 30mm coaxial cannon as secondary armament; and a 7.62mm machine gun. The fully amphibious ZBD97 is powered by a liquid-cooled diesel engine in the front compartment and two water jets providing at sea propulsion. The vehicle has a crew of three-man and carries five to seven fully equipped infantryman.

Specifications
Accommodation: Crew 3, Troops 7

Guns: Main Gun Caliber 100 mm

Number of Weapons: 40

Other: Max Rate of Fire 10 rounds per minute

Operators

China

Internet Resources
sinodefence.com

Notes
(*) lead contractor
IOC: Initial Operating Capability
FOC: Full Operating Capability
CEP: Circular Error Probable
Comm: Commissioning Date
Meters (m) Kilometers (km) Nautic Miles (nm) Inch (in) Yard (yd) Foot (ft) Millimeter (mm)
Pound (lb) Kilogram (kg) kN (KiloNewton) Ton (t)
Meters per Second (mps) Kilometers per Hour (kph) Knot (kt) Miles per Hour (mph)
Liter (l) Galon (gl)
Year (yr) Minutes (min) Second (sec)
Shaft-Horse-Power (shp)

Last Updated: Saturday, November 22, 2008

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