Type 90 AFV

Type 90 (YW535)
Type	Armoured personnel carrier
Place of origin	People's Republic of China
Production history
Designed	late 1980s
Manufacturer	Norinco
Produced	1991
Specifications
Weight	14.5 tonne
Length	6.744 m
Width	3.148 m
Height	2.376 m
Crew	2 (commander and driver) and 13 passengers
Armor	Welded steel hull, resist rounds up to 12.7mm
Main armament	1x Type 54 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun
Engine	Deutz/KHD BF8L 413F 4-cycle air-cooled diesel 320 hp
Power/weight	16.21 Kw/t
Suspension	torsion bar
Operational range	500 km
Speed	65 km/h

The Norinco Type 90 Armoured Fighting Vehicle is the successor for the Type 85 AFV of which it uses some components. The Type 90 series was developed for export, which consists of at least 10 different types; its industrial index is YW535.

This new type is rather similar to its predecessors Type 85 AFV and Type 89 AFV, but the hull has a different shape, having a vertical lower side wall and a sloping upper side wall. Overall, the Type 90 is bigger and heavier, yet has a lower profile.

Description

The hull is made of all-welded homogeneous armour plate, and provides protection against small arms fire. The vehicle carries a maximum of 15 including crew. The driver sits in the front left of the hull, and has a single piece hatch, which opens to the left. The driver is provided with three day periscopes. One of them can be replaced by a passive low-light-level night vision device or infrared sight. The commander sits behind the driver and has a single piece hatch.

The air-cooled, turbocharged diesel engine sits to the right rear of the driver. The engine is usually the BF8L 413F of 320 hp, but some models (Type 91) are powered by a more powerful 360 hp engine BF8L 513C. A large intake is located in the top of the hull, with an exhaust on the right hand side. The engine feeds a new hydraulic gearbox with 4 forward gears and 1 reverse gear. The track is driven at the front by a drive sprocket, and passes over five dual rubber-typed road wheels and three track-return rollers, then loops over an idler at the rear, before returning to the front again.

A 12.7 millimetre calibre machine gun with armoured shields is located in an open mount at the front of a small hatch in the center of the hull which opens into the troop compartment. The gun can traverse through 360 degrees and can be elevated to an angle of 90 degrees. A total of 1,050 rounds is carried on board. The troop compartment is at the rear of the hull with the infantrymen entering via a large door hinged on the right. Over the top of the troop compartment is a total of four hatches, two small ones located towards the front and two oblong ones to the rear; the latter open outwards. In each side of the hull there are three fitring ports with periscopes. On either side of the forward hull, a cluster of four 76 mm smoke grenade dischargers is mounted.

The vehicle is fully amphibious, a folding trim board stowed at the front of the hull needs to be raised, and the vehicle can then propel itself in the water using its tracks. Standard equipment includes an NBC system, a Type 889 radio, and a Type 803 intercom system.

Variants

• Type 90 Tracked Armoured Personnel Carrier - Basic version, as described.
• Type 90 Armoured Command Vehicle - Retains the basic low-profile hull, but has some of the periscopes removed. Specialised equipment consists of a generator and additional radio sets.
• Type 90 Armoured Command Post - Has a higher roofline and is equipped with a generator and multiple radio sets.
• Type 90 Tracked Armoured Ambulance - Unarmed ambulance with a higher roofline, can carry 4 stretcher patients.
• Type 90 Recovery Vehicle - Has a slightly wider hull and is equipped with a 1-tonne crane, generator and welding equipment.
• Type 90 Self-Propelled Artillery Rocket Launcher - Variant with a 30-round 130 mm rocket launcher mounted on top of the hull. A total of 60 rockets is carried on board. Crew: 6.
• Type 90 Self-Propelled Mortar 120mm - With a 120 mm mortar Type W86 and 50 rounds in the hull rear. The mortar is fired through a big circular opening in the hull roof and has a range of 11 km. Weight: 15 tonnes.
• Type 90 Self-Propelled Mortar 82mm - With an 82 mm mortar Type W87 mounted in the rear hull and 112 rounds of ammunition. Weight: 14.6 tonnes.
• Type 91 Armoured Infantry Fighting Vehicle - This version is powered by the 360 hp engine and has a longer chassis with 6 roadwheels either side. It is fitted with a 2-man turret which is very similar to the one of the Russian BMP-2. The turret can be armed with an automatic gun of calibre 23, 25 or 30 mm.
• Type 91 Self-Propelled Howitzer 122mm - Turret-less version with a Type 85 122mm howitzer mounted on top of the open rear hull. 40 rounds of ammunition are provided. Crew: 6. Weight: 17.4 tonnes. This version too has a longer chassis and 360 hp engine.
• Type 91 Re-Supply Vehicle - Logistics version.

Operators

•  Myanmar

External links

• Pictures of the Type 90 APC
• Sinodefence - Type 85/89

References

• Norinco booklet about Type 90 Armoured Personnel Carrier
• Jane's Armour and Artillery 2005-2006

Chinese modern AFVs
Main battle tanks	Gongchen (modified Type 97 Chi-Ha)x T-34x IS-2x Type 59 Type 59G Type 62x Type 62G Type 69/79x Type 88x Type 96/A Type 99 Type 99A
Export MBTs	Type 85x Type 90x MBT2000 VT1A VT2 VT4
amphibious tanks	Type 63 Type 63A ZTD-05 VN16
Infantry fighting vehicles	YW307 Type 91 ZBD-97 ZBD-04 ZBD-05 ZBD-04A ZBL08 VN1 VN18 VN11 VN12
APCs	Type 63 Type 77 ZSD-85 ZSD-89 ZSD-90 ZSL-92 VN2 ZFB-05 ZBL09 ZBD-08
SPGs	Type 85 PLZ07A PLZ07B PLL-05 Type 83 SPH ZBL09 SPH ZBL09 Mortar PLZ-45 PLZ-89 PLZ-52 PLZ-05 PLZ-04
Tank destroyer	PTZ-89 ZBL09 tank destroyer ST1
MRLs	Type 63 Type 81 Type 82 Type 83 Type 90 Type 90A Type 90B WM-40 WM-80 SR-4 PR50 AR3 A100 A200 A300 WS-1 WS-2 WS-3 WS-6 WS-15 WS-22 WS-32 WS-33 WS-35 WS-43 WS-63 SR-5 SY300 SY400 Weishi
SPAAG	LD2000 PGZ-95 PGZ-04A CS/SA5 SWS2
Wheeled assault guns	ZBL09 assault gun ST1
Prototypes	WZ-111 Type 98 WZ-132 WZ-122 59-16 Type 80
Note: x = retired from service or has ceased development