An armoured fighting vehicle or armored fighting vehicle (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by armour, generally combining operational mobility with offensive and defensive capabilities. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked. Examples of AFVs are tanks, armoured cars, assault guns, self-propelled artilleries, infantry fighting vehicles (IFV), and armoured personnel carriers (APC).
Self-propelled artillery is artillery equipped with its own propulsion system to move toward its firing position. Within the terminology are the self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer, self-propelled mortar, and self-propelled rocket artillery. They are high-mobility vehicles, usually based on continuous tracks carrying either a large field gun, howitzer, mortar, or some form of rocket/missile launcher. They are usually used for long-range indirect bombardment support on the battlefield.
Boragh or Boraq is an Iranian-made armoured personnel carrier. Boragh is believed to be a reverse engineered and upgraded model of the Chinese Type 86 (BMP-1). The upgrades include a reduction in weight, a higher road speed, and stronger armor. The vehicle is fully amphibious and is fitted with an NBC protection system and infra-red night vision equipment.
The WZ-551 is a Chinese wheeled infantry fighting vehicle family. The name WZ-551 actually covers two families of vehicles with the official designations in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) – Type 90 and Type 92. Over 3,000 WZ-551s are in service with the PLA, where they are used by medium mechanized infantry units.
The 2S4 Tyulpan is a Soviet 240 mm self-propelled heavy mortar. "2S4" is its GRAU designation. The Tyulpan is the largest mortar system in use today.
The 2S9 NONA is a self-propelled and air-droppable 120 mm mortar designed in the Soviet Union, which entered service in 1981. The 2S9 chassis is designated the S-120 and based on the aluminium hull of the BTR-D airborne multi-purpose tracked armoured personnel carrier. More generally, the 120 mm mortar is referred to as the Nona, with the 2S9 also known as the Nona-S. Although no figures have been released, it is estimated that over 1,000 2S9 were built.
The ZBD-04 or Type 04 is a Chinese infantry fighting vehicle. It bears some external resemblance to the BMP-3, particularly with regards to its turret and main armament; However, the chassis and internal subsystem possesses a different layout. The earliest prototypes received the designation ZBD-97. An improved version, ZBD-04A, is the vehicle currently in service and being produced.
The Norinco Type 89 tracked armoured fighting vehicle is a Chinese armoured personnel carrier. It was developed from the earlier export market Type 85 AFV vehicle. It entered service in the late 1990s and was first shown publicly in 1999. There are approximately 1,000 in service. It has the industrial index of WZ534 and although it was mainly developed for the PLA, there is also an export version YW534.
The Type 89 self-propelled howitzer is a 122 mm self-propelled howitzer used by China's People's Liberation Army to replace Type 85 and Type 70 122 mm self-propelled howitzer. The PLZ-89 was first unveiled to the public during the 1999 Chinese National Day Parade.
The PLZ-05 or the Type 05 is a 155 mm self-propelled howitzer developed by the People's Liberation Army of China to replace the Type 59-1 130 mm towed gun and Type 83 152 mm self-propelled gun. The PLZ-05 was officially unveiled at the Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution to mark the 80th anniversary of the PLA in July 2007, and first entered service with the PLA in 2008.
The Type 85 is a tracked armoured fighting vehicle produced by Chinese company Norinco. It is an improved version of the Type 63 armoured personnel carrier. The vehicle is bigger, has additional firing ports and periscopes, a longer chassis with an additional road wheel on each side, and is equipped with an NBC protection system.
The Type 90 is an armoured fighting vehicle produced by Chinese company Norinco; it is the successor for the Type 85 AFV of which it uses some components. The Type 90 series was developed for export, and consists of at least 10 different types; its industrial index is YW535.
The WZ-523 is a six-wheeled Chinese armored personnel carrier designed to be amphibious. Built on the chassis of the Hanyang HY472 truck, it can carry a crew of three and seat up to eight additional passengers. Two primary models were produced—one with a roof-mounted 12.7mm heavy machine gun, and the other with a small turret armed with a 35mm grenade launcher and a 7.62mm co-axial general purpose machine gun. An export model that entered service in 2008 as a fire support vehicle was also marketed successfully to the Namibian Army; this is armed with a 73mm 2A28 Grom smoothbore cannon using the same turret as the Soviet BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicle.
A mortar carrier, or self-propelled mortar, is a self-propelled artillery piece in which a mortar is the primary weapon. Simpler vehicles carry a standard infantry mortar while in more complex vehicles the mortar is fully integrated into the vehicle and cannot be dismounted from the vehicle. Mortar carriers cannot be fired while on the move and some must be dismounted to fire.
The PLZ-07 or Type 07 is a Chinese 122 mm self-propelled artillery made by the China North Industries Group Corporation (NORINCO). The PLZ-07 self-propelled howitzer was first unveiled to the public during the military parade celebrating 60th anniversary of the PLA on 1 October 2009. The PLZ-07 was developed to replace the older Type 89, Type 85 and Type 70/70-1 122 mm self-propelled artillery systems.
The Type 08 is a Chinese family of modern eight-wheeled, amphibious, modular armored vehicles developed by Norinco for infantry fire support, battlefield logistics, and quick reaction operations. Developed in the early 2000s, the vehicle family were produced for more than 6000 hulls and widely deployed by the People's Liberation Army Ground Force and People's Liberation Army Marine Corps.
The BMD-4 is an amphibious infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) originating from post-Cold War Russia. Originally designated as the BMD-3M, the chassis of the BMD-4 is the same as that of the BMD-3 because it was developed on the same basis. This armored fighting vehicle is one of the lightest in its class, possessing a substantial amount of firepower. The vehicle was designed to transport Russian Airborne Troops (VDV), increasing its mobility, armament, and protection on the battlefield.
The Type 09 is a Chinese self-propelled anti-aircraft vehicle manufactured by Norinco. It is armed with two 35 millimeter cannons and optionally two to four fire-and-forget infrared homing missiles. It started to gradually replace the predecessor Type 95 in 2009. Some military analysts designated the vehicle as Type 07, but the official designation was confirmed as Type 09 on the Theme Exhibition of the 90th Anniversary of Chinese People's Liberation Army in 2017.
The ZBD-03 or Type 03 is a Chinese airborne infantry fighting vehicle. It features a light-weight chassis and hydropneumatic suspension for airborne operations. Early prototypes received the designation ZLC-2000.
The Type 07P is a Chinese infantry fighting vehicle manufactured by Poly Technologies.
