PLA Ground Forces news, pics and videos

taxiya

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By Liu Xuanzun Source:Global Times Published: 2018/8/2 19:58:39

China's unprecedented innovation of electromagnetic catapult rocket artillery technology will render the weapon more powerful than most conventional artillery, especially in Qinghai-Tibet plateau areas, Chinese experts said on Thursday.

Han Junli, a research fellow at a Beijing-based research center under the People's Liberation Army (PLA), is leading the development of the electromagnetic rocket artillery, inspired by Ma Weiming, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering dubbed "the father of the Chinese electromagnetic catapult," Science and Technology Daily reported.

Han reportedly mentioned a military incident that occurred in a border region on a plateau in Southwest China, where he saw the potential necessity of deploying rocket artillery.

China has large plateau and mountainous areas where rocket artillery could destroy invading forces from hundreds of kilometers away without soldiers crossing mountains, Han said, according to the newspaper.

"Conventional artillery that uses powder may suffer from lack of oxygen on plateaus," Song Zhongping, a military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Thursday.

"Artillery that uses an electromagnetic catapult will not need to face the same problem. This makes it very valuable in warfare on plateaus."

I think the commentator Song Zhongping is making a wrong explanation of the application of EM rocket. Rocket does not breath air, it has its own oxidizer mixed in the chemical charge. It works equally efficient 4000 meters above sea level as it works at 0 meters.

The application is IMO to extend the range of the same rocket besides other possible advantages, or reduce the weight and size of the rocket by replacing part of the chemical charge while retaining the same range. This can significantly reduce the logistic burden on the high altitude. Every shell has to be carried by trucks and aircraft with air breathing engines, reducing the weight in half means doubling the number of aminations delivered.

The problem of this approach is that, the EM launcher need electricity which is most likely generated by mobile diesel generator which breath air, the problem remains. Only way to eliminate that demand is Solar and Wind power stations, but then no-mobility. To get back mobility, one need battery which is inferior to chemical charges as of today.

So I would say it is a good try, but still far away from being practical to fully replace or meaningfully substitute conventional rocket, until battery technology advanced to a new level.
 
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Orthan

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These are the results from the international army games edition of 2018. What i find really interesting is the relation betwen the nation who hosts the individual event and the winner. Russia won all the individual events in its territory, same as china, kazakistan, belarus and iran. And i remember reading something along those lines last year. It seems that hosting the individual event gives the home team a decisive advantage.
 

by78

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HMMWV with Chinese characteristics. According to a
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, these are apparently used by a sort of modular, high-mobility fire team.

(2048 x 1471),
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44025581451_a278053282_k.jpg


The rear passenger doors on these open like a clamshell, for quick ingress and egress. The bottom half doubles as a ramp...
43307397674_09f7f026f4_o.png


The top-mounted machine guns can also be remotely operated...
42216958040_5d988aa548_o.png


Here's a command and communications vehicle...
43119383125_3446eda204_o.jpg
 

Blitzo

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HMMWV with Chinese characteristics. According to a
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
, these are apparently used by a sort of modular, high-mobility fire team.

(2048 x 1471),
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44025581451_a278053282_k.jpg

Does anyone know what the designation of this vehicle family actually is?

I've looked around online for it before, but I've never been able to find a solid answer.

edit: I suppose what I'm asking is more, has anyone come across some specs about what kind of vehicle it is (protection, weight speed etc).
at least one site suggests its designation is csk-131
 
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by78

General
Does anyone know what the designation of this vehicle family actually is?

I've looked around online for it before, but I've never been able to find a solid answer.

edit: I suppose what I'm asking is more, has anyone come across some specs about what kind of vehicle it is (protection, weight speed etc).
at least one site suggests its designation is csk-131

Unfortunately no. It was publicly displayed before, but no pictures were taken of the info placard, assuming there was one.
 
D

Deleted member 13312

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Looks to be a high mobility recon team, judging by radar/com dome on one of the vehicles. Not meant to prevail against anything heavier than a proper IFV, unless employing high speed hit and run attacks against unsuspecting targets.
 

jobjed

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Does anyone know what the designation of this vehicle family actually is?

I've looked around online for it before, but I've never been able to find a solid answer.

edit: I suppose what I'm asking is more, has anyone come across some specs about what kind of vehicle it is (protection, weight speed etc).
at least one site suggests its designation is csk-131
It's the Mengshi family of light combat vehicles. The one shown in by78's post is gen 2, gen 1 is the Chinese Humvee and gen 3 came out recently. Gen 3 is a lot bulkier and taller, looking a bit like the L-ATV, google 三代猛士 for pics.

This is the full catalogue:
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First, second, and third gen are 5t, 6t, and 8t respectively. Gen 1 is in service everywhere as a general purpose transport like the US Humvee. Gen 2s are in service with light combat units. Gen 3s I haven't seen in PLA use yet, I think it was more marketed to police forces but it could just be that negotiations with PLA were made away from public spotlight. The PLA now have heavy, medium, and light units equipped with, respectively, tanks and MBTs, 8x8s, and Mengshis.

Being <10t, the Mengshi family is easily air transportable and three gen 2s can fit in a Y-9, meaning a dadui of Y-9s can airlift a battalion of Mengshis at a time compared to only a company of 8x8s.
 

Blitzo

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It's the Mengshi family of light combat vehicles. The one shown in by78's post is gen 2, gen 1 is the Chinese Humvee and gen 3 came out recently. Gen 3 is a lot bulkier and taller, looking a bit like the L-ATV, google 三代猛士 for pics.

This is the full catalogue:
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First, second, and third gen are 5t, 6t, and 8t respectively. Gen 1 is in service everywhere as a general purpose transport like the US Humvee. Gen 2s are in service with light combat units. Gen 3s I haven't seen in PLA use yet, I think it was more marketed to police forces but it could just be that negotiations with PLA were made away from public spotlight. The PLA now have heavy, medium, and light units equipped with, respectively, tanks and MBTs, 8x8s, and Mengshis.

Being <10t, the Mengshi family is easily air transportable and three gen 2s can fit in a Y-9, meaning a dadui of Y-9s can airlift a battalion of Mengshis at a time compared to only a company of 8x8s.

thanks for the info.

do you know if the gen 2 or 3 Mengshi vehicles intended to feature any mine protection at all, or are they more just general light combat vehicles? A quick look at the website profiles don't seem to suggest it but then again their information about protection is limited
 

jobjed

Captain
thanks for the info.

do you know if the gen 2 or 3 Mengshi vehicles intended to feature any mine protection at all, or are they more just general light combat vehicles? A quick look at the website profiles don't seem to suggest it but then again their information about protection is limited
They don't look mine protected to me. Their bottoms are flat whereas MRAPs have V-hulls and are conspicuously tall as a result.

Gen 3 bottoms:

izTYeaO.jpg


l3w2jrH.jpg
 

by78

General
thanks for the info.

do you know if the gen 2 or 3 Mengshi vehicles intended to feature any mine protection at all, or are they more just general light combat vehicles? A quick look at the website profiles don't seem to suggest it but then again their information about protection is limited

I don't think they have much mine protection, at least not against heavy mines.

I don't recall seeing images of Mengshi's undersides so that I can't say for sure. Their ground clearance appears to be more than the Humvee, but probably not enough for an effective V-shaped hull. Also their seats are mounted on the floor, not ideal for surviving a mine attack.

Perhaps they have re-inforced undersides, seeing they weigh 2.5X more than an unarmored Humvee, so that some of the weight might have gone to protection against smaller mines.

Speaking of, here's an old New York Times
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(paywalled) on a blast 'chimney' that can vent mine explosions. Some were retro-fitted onto Humvees and underwent testing around 2011; notably, in addition to the chimneys, these Humvees had also been modified to have a V-shaped hull. I don't know what became of the tests. I wonder if China might give this idea a go. Anyway, some relevant excerpts from the paywalled article:

But recent blast tests show that Humvees built with the new chimney could provide as much protection as some of the heavier, and more costly, mine-resistant vehicles that have replaced them in many uses... Engineers say the chimney, which rises through the passenger cabin, releases some of the explosive gases — traveling at twice the speed of a fighter jet — that have mangled and flipped many of the vehicles... Pentagon officials have said little about the 11 blast tests so far, in which the prototype vehicles are engulfed by a cloud of smoke, dust and fire, but the passenger cabin remains intact... Dr. Leo Christodoulou, who has overseen the tests for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, said in a written statement that the changes represented a “significant improvement” over the classic Humvees. He said the new design also provided safety levels comparable to the smallest mine-resistant vehicles, which can weigh twice as much as the Humvees, and might be useful in protecting other military vehicles... The chimney was designed by a small Maryland firm, Hardwire L.L.C... The chimney, which is hidden next to a gunner’s turret atop the Humvee, is the biggest change. But like the mine-resistant vehicles, the Humvee prototypes have V-shaped steel bottoms to deflect parts of the blasts.

And here's a photo of the 'chimney' in action...
30179133698_e6b69aabfb_b.jpg
 
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