ZBD04A - Revision history

U38088265 at 20:24, 19 June 2024

2024-06-19T20:24:02Z

U29013054: Added stock horsepower to arcade and realistic

2024-06-17T21:08:45Z

Added stock horsepower to arcade and realistic

U29013054: Added some stats to hp/t and turret rotation speed + reload speed for 30mm

2024-06-17T21:06:04Z

Added some stats to hp/t and turret rotation speed + reload speed for 30mm

U28580205 at 03:34, 10 May 2024

2024-05-10T03:34:23Z

U4656018: Adding playstyle of ZBD04A

2024-05-07T16:55:01Z

Adding playstyle of ZBD04A

U123536139 at 17:25, 2 May 2024

2024-05-02T17:25:08Z

U4656018: Addition to history section and slight revision to combat capabilities

2024-04-28T21:52:03Z

Addition to history section and slight revision to combat capabilities

U44629479: /* Media */ Added Shooting Range episode

2024-04-21T18:03:04Z

‎Media: Added Shooting Range episode

U41531792: /* Mobility */

2024-04-15T09:04:32Z

‎Mobility

U119409653: Removing unnecessary specification

2024-03-29T00:18:50Z

Removing unnecessary specification

@@ Line 26: / Line 26: @@
 ! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
 |-
 | Hull || 18 mm (82°) UFP
 mm +30 mm (43°) LFP
 | 20 +10 mm ''Top'' <br> 20 mm ''Bottom'' || 13 mm || 13 mm
 |-
@@ Line 42: / Line 42: @@
 To further increase the mobility of ZBD04A to keep up with MBTs, NORINCO installed new power pack consists of new version of 6V150 ''(same name as the one on ZBD86 but based on 12V150HB on ZTZ99 series)'' and CH400D transmission; enabling the vehicle to quickly reach vantage points or flanking enemies with its mobility, as well as retreat from danger much faster than BMP-1 variants.
-{{tankMobility|abMinHp=930|rbMinHp=531|AoAweight=}}
+{{tankMobility|abMinHp=930|rbMinHp=531}}
 === Modifications and economy ===
@@ Line 65: / Line 65: @@
 |-
 ! ''Arcade''
-| rowspan="2" | 500 (250) || rowspan="2" | 330 || rowspan="2" | -6°/+60° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | Two-plane || 33.3 || 39.3 || __._ || __._ || 47.6 || rowspan="2" | 1.3 || rowspan="2" | _.__ || rowspan="2" | _.__ || rowspan="2" | 1.0
+| rowspan="2" | 500 (250) || rowspan="2" | 330 || rowspan="2" | -6°/+60° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | Two-plane || 33.3 || 46.1 || 56.0 || 61.9 || 65.9 || rowspan="2" | 1.30 || rowspan="2" | 1.15 || rowspan="2" | 1.06 || rowspan="2" | 1.00
 |-
 ! ''Realistic''
-| 20.8 || 24.5 || __._ || __._ || 29.8
+| 20.8 || 24.5 || 29.8 || 32.9 || 35.0
 |-
 |}
@@ Line 113: / Line 113: @@
 ! Stock !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
 |-
 | 50 || - || - || Two-plane || colspan="4" | 4.0
 |-
 |}
@@ Line 158: / Line 158: @@
 <!-- ''Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but instead give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).'' -->
 ; The Best Friend of MBTs
 If players have certain extent of knowledge of the ZBD04 series, the original design of ZBD04 is similar to BMP-3; but on the improved ZBD04A, ditching some features for more reliable protection becomes the key for ZBD04A, thus leading to the IFV with superior performance to many of its enemies and now the best friend of PLAGF's MBT columns within their heavy composite brigades.
 To say anything about ZBD04A's capabilities, players have to consider for one thing first at all - its role as an IFV. ZBD04A was designed as an IFV from day one, thus thinking of using it as a frontline vehicle means the shortest possible service life of the vehicle. Although the vehicle was designed to stop up to 30 mm caliber shells, facing MBTs or LTs with high caliber cannons is never the best idea to ever consider; taking it as a support vehicle vehicle is always the idea as it doesn't have the side protection like [[PUMA]] in Bundeswehr's service. Thanks to the revision of hull design, ZBD04A can stop up to 30 mm full-caliber shells from certain distance up front; this also means better survivability for the crew albeit only having 3 crews in this case, the overall design is much larger than its previous designs or Russian designs, thus migrates some damages from shrapnel is also possible but never take it as granted. The redesigned hull on ZBD04A also further enlarges the profile of the vehicle, thus enemy can spot the existence of the vehicle relative fast in this case; in this case, the hull itself is almost the height of a M1A2 Abrams from side-by-side comparison!
 Now the flaws have been addressed, it is the time to introduce the features of ZBD04A: firstly, the improved FCS over BMP-3 series and among one of the best in game thanks to its late introduction by 2011; then the fairly mobility to navigate around the battlefield, after that the impressive protection thanks to the applique armor plates and lastly, the turret system with improved ammunitions. Having a 3rd generation TVD is pretty hard to come by at its tier, let alone CITV system with same TVD definition; if players are having problem seeking for the hiding enemies in complicated terrain, the TVD is certainly the best friend to players, it is always better to find the enemy first then plan to finish them off, instead of CQC which can be extra risky for IFVs; thanks to the improved powerplant developed as part of the WZ123 program, ZBD04A also utilized better domestic engine and dual-flow transmission for its overall mobility, as long as players are aware of their position and where they should be to intercept enemy vanguards, both IFVs or fast MBTs, utilizing the mobility of ZBD04A can often gain players early victories against such targets with a somewhat impressive protection up front - if the enemy didn't destroy the vehicle in one-go or the turret system, chances are ZBD04A can achieve revenge kills against those which almost sent the vehicle back to the hanger. After that, the turret system - it is well known that PLAGF adopted the 2K23 turret system as their IFV firepower, in this case, ZBD04A shares most of the ammunition from its Russian counterpart minus the better ATGM but now has access to APFSDS; this can be said as a game-changer for the vehicle as this enables the 2A72 equivalent (as ZPL02/ZPZ02) with full APDS or APFSDS belt against enemy vehicles, this also further enhance the odds to disable enemies from sides; although lacking more advanced ATGM, the APS03-100 is more than enough to take down most MBTs around its tier with its tandem warhead or sometimes even by overpressure, be sure to aim carefully for long-distance target and sometimes lower the DPI for best result.
@@ Line 205: / Line 205: @@
 === [[wt:en/news/8776-development-zbd-04a-the-unstoppable-scout-en|Devblog]] ===
-The ZBD-04 which has a fighting compartment from the Russian BMP-3 was developed in China in the late 1990s and began entering service in the early 2000s. The next model of this vehicle was the modernized ZBD-04A, featuring additional armor and improved electronics. This vehicle was first presented to the general public at a parade in 2015. Today, the ZBD-04A is in service with units and is the most modern vehicle of this class in the People’s Liberation Army of China.
+The ZBD-04 which has a fighting compartment from the Russian BMP-3 was developed in China in the late 1990s and began entering service in the early 2000s. The next model of this vehicle was the modernized ZBD-04A, featuring additional armor and improved electronics. This vehicle was first presented to the general public at a parade in 2015. Today, the ZBD-04A is in service with units and is the most modern vehicle of this class in the People's Liberation Army of China.
 == Media ==

@@ Line 42: / Line 42: @@
 To further increase the mobility of ZBD04A to keep up with MBTs, NORINCO installed new power pack consists of new version of 6V150 ''(same name as the one on ZBD86 but based on 12V150HB on ZTZ99 series)'' and CH400D transmission; enabling the vehicle to quickly reach vantage points or flanking enemies with its mobility, as well as retreat from danger much faster than BMP-1 variants.
-{{tankMobility}}
+{{tankMobility|abMinHp=930|rbMinHp=531|AoAweight=}}
 === Modifications and economy ===

@@ Line 65: / Line 65: @@
 |-
 ! ''Arcade''
-| rowspan="2" | 500 (250) || rowspan="2" | 330 || rowspan="2" | -6°/+60° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | Two-plane || __._ || __._ || __._ || __._ || __._ || rowspan="2" | _.__ || rowspan="2" | _.__ || rowspan="2" | _.__ || rowspan="2" | _.__
+| rowspan="2" | 500 (250) || rowspan="2" | 330 || rowspan="2" | -6°/+60° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | Two-plane || 33.3 || 39.3 || __._ || __._ || 47.6 || rowspan="2" | 1.3 || rowspan="2" | _.__ || rowspan="2" | _.__ || rowspan="2" | 1.0
 |-
 ! ''Realistic''
-| __._ || __._ || __._ || __._ || __._
+| 20.8 || 24.5 || __._ || __._ || 29.8
 |-
 |}
@@ Line 157: / Line 157: @@
 == Usage in battles ==
 <!-- ''Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but instead give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).'' -->
 ; The Best Friend of MBTs
 If players have certain extent of knowledge of the ZBD04 series, the original design of ZBD04 is similar to BMP-3; but on the improved ZBD04A, ditching some features for more reliable protection becomes the key for ZBD04A, thus leading to the IFV with superior performance to many of its enemies and now the best friend of PLAGF's MBT columns within their heavy composite brigades.

@@ Line 157: / Line 157: @@
 == Usage in battles ==
 <!-- ''Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but instead give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).'' -->
-==== The BBF of MBTs ====
+; The Best Friend of MBTs
 If players have certain extent of knowledge of the ZBD04 series, the original design of ZBD04 is similar to BMP-3; but on the improved ZBD04A, ditching some features for more reliable protection becomes the key for ZBD04A, thus leading to the IFV with superior performance to many of its enemies and now the best friend of PLAGF's MBT columns within their heavy composite brigades.

@@ Line 157: / Line 157: @@
 == Usage in battles ==
 <!-- ''Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but instead give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).'' -->
-''Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but instead give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).''
+==== The BBF of MBTs ====
 === Pros and cons ===

@@ Line 166: / Line 166: @@
 * Sufficient reverse to get away from danger
 * Improved gunnery system to some Russian equivalents
-** Fixed 4 second reload rate for both missiles or HE shells
+** Fixed 4-second reload rate for both missiles or HE shells
 ** Access to 30 mm APFSDS
 ** Tandem ATGM for taking out MBTs frontally
 ** 3rd Gen TVD for gunner and CITV with high magnification
 '''Cons:'''

@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 == Description ==
 <!-- ''In the description, the first part should be about the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle, as well as its key features. In the second part, tell the reader about the ground vehicle in the game. Insert a screenshot of the vehicle, so that if the novice player does not remember the vehicle by name, he will immediately understand what kind of vehicle the article is talking about.'' -->
-The '''{{Specs|name}}'''  , with an industry code WZ502G, is one of the main composition of modern time PLAGF heavy composite mechanized brigades and the most advanced IFV for the army. As part of the military modernization program since 1990s, PLAGF, which had only started the deployment of [[ZBD86]] on early 1990s, purchased the 2K23 turret system from Rostec after their evaluations on the [[BMP-3]] with negative impression mostly on the hull ergonomics; the new turret system and the designated chassis under the name ZBD97 (WZ502) was developed since 1997 all the way to 2007 and commissioned as the ZBD04 as the new generation PLAGF IFV. Likely due to new stages of military modernization called for revisions on IFV design philosophy, the new IFV adopted a NATO-alike hull design while retaining identical turret system from ZBD04, upgraded protection, mobility and state-of-the-art FCS for the new IFV, leading to the introduction of ZBD04A which has been spotted since 2011.
+The '''{{Specs|name}}'''  (ZBD04A式步兵战车), with an industry code WZ502G, is one of the main composition of modern time PLAGF heavy composite mechanized brigades and the most advanced IFV for the army. As part of the military modernization program since 1990s, PLAGF, which had only started the deployment of [[ZBD86]] as their designated IFV on early 1990s, purchased the 2K23 turret system from Rostec after their evaluations on the [[BMP-3]] with negative impression mostly on the hull ergonomics; the new turret system and the designated chassis under the name ZBD97 (WZ502) was developed since 1997 all the way to 2003 and commissioned as the ZBD04 as the new generation PLAGF IFV. Likely due to new stages of military modernization called for revisions on IFV design philosophy, the new IFV adopted a NATO-alike hull design while retaining identical turret system from ZBD04, upgraded protection, mobility and state-of-the-art FCS for the new IFV, leading to the introduction of ZBD04A which has been spotted since 2011.
 As the very first dedicated autocannon IFV introduced to Chinese tech tree in [[Update "Alpha Strike"]], ZBD04A puts the full-stop of the embarrassing situation where both PLAGF and ROCA couldn't offer any IFV with autocannon; with the superior FCS, mobility for its size and wide variety of domestic/licensed ammunition based on the BMP-3, ZBD04A can be a fearsome flanker with its autocannon or supporting vehicle for the advancing allies - the vehicle will not disappoint players with its new capabilities, be sure to find a large enough object to be your cover in dire situations due to its rather huge size.
@@ Line 165: / Line 165: @@
 * Fast and nimble for such a huge IFV
 * Sufficient reverse to get away from danger
-* Improved gunnery system to Russian equivalents
+* Improved gunnery system to some Russian equivalents
-** Fixed 8 second reload rate for both missiles or HE shells
+** Fixed 4 second reload rate for both missiles or HE shells
 ** Access to 30 mm APFSDS
 ** Tandem ATGM for taking out MBTs frontally
@@ Line 180: / Line 180: @@
 == History ==
 <!-- ''Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: <nowiki>https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History</nowiki>) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <code><nowiki><ref></ref></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <code><nowiki><references /></nowiki></code>. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under <code><nowiki>=== In-game description ===</nowiki></code>, also if applicable).'' -->
-''Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: <nowiki>https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History</nowiki>) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <code><nowiki><ref></ref></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <code><nowiki><references /></nowiki></code>. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under <code><nowiki>=== In-game description ===</nowiki></code>, also if applicable).''
+==== The Early Attempt - ZBD04 ====
 === [[wt:en/news/8776-development-zbd-04a-the-unstoppable-scout-en|Devblog]] ===
@@ Line 187: / Line 193: @@
 == Media ==
 <!-- ''Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.'' -->
 ;Videos
 {{Youtube-gallery|cJ3gKpG6x3k|'''The Shooting Range #402''' - ''Metal Beasts'' section at 00:25 discusses the {{PAGENAME}}.}}

@@ Line 40: / Line 40: @@
 {{Specs-Tank-Mobility}}
 <!-- ''Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and manoeuvrability, as well as the maximum speed forwards and backwards.'' -->
-To further increase the mobility of ZBD04A to keep up with MBTs, NORINCO installed new power pack consists of new version of 6V150 ''(same name as the one on ZBD86 but based on 12V150HB on ZTZ99 series)'' and CH500 transmission; enabling the vehicle to quickly reach vantage points or flanking enemies with its mobility, as well as retreat from danger much faster than BMP-1 variants.
+To further increase the mobility of ZBD04A to keep up with MBTs, NORINCO installed new power pack consists of new version of 6V150 ''(same name as the one on ZBD86 but based on 12V150HB on ZTZ99 series)'' and CH400D transmission; enabling the vehicle to quickly reach vantage points or flanking enemies with its mobility, as well as retreat from danger much faster than BMP-1 variants.
 {{tankMobility}}

@@ Line 54: / Line 54: @@
 {{main|ZPL02 (30 mm)}}
-As part of the main component of ZBD04 series, Mainland China acquired the 2K23 turret system from Russia in the 1990s as the mean to quickly enhance the overall firepower of PLAGF IFVs. Both Chinese and Russian systems use identical weapons aside from the coaxial machine gun; in Chinese's case, NORINCO also developed a new autoloader for the onboard missiles thus enabling vastly higher rate of fire than BMP-3 to the equivalent of [[BMD-4]]. The ZPL02 (ZPZ02) also carries APFSDS which is lacking on any vehicles with 2A72 autocannon, making flanking much easier thanks to the high penetration.
+As part of the main component of ZBD04 series, China acquired the 2K23 turret system from Russia in the 1990s as the mean to quickly enhance the overall firepower of PLAGF IFVs. Both Chinese and Russian systems use identical weapons aside from the coaxial machine gun; in Chinese's case, NORINCO also developed a new autoloader for the onboard missiles thus enabling vastly higher rate of fire than BMP-3 to the equivalent of [[BMD-4]]. The ZPL02 (ZPZ02) also carries APFSDS which is lacking on any vehicles with 2A72 autocannon, making flanking much easier thanks to the high penetration.
 {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
@@ Line 202: / Line 202: @@
 * ''topic on the official game forum;''
 * ''other literature.'' -->
 * [[wt:en/news/8776-development-zbd-04a-the-unstoppable-scout-en|[Devblog]  ZBD-04A: The Unstoppable Scout]]
 {{China light tanks}}
 [[Category:ATGM vehicles]]