IFV/APC Amphibious Upgrade

Last updated: 4 April 2007

For many years, the PLA had relied on dedicated amphibious armoured vehicles such as the Type 77 armoured personnel carrier (APC) to provide armour-protected amphibious assault landing capabilities. Equipped with water jets for propelling and turning in the water, the Type 77 is capable of carrying marine soldiers and their equipment from amphibious ships offshore to the shore a fairly high speed (11~12km/h). However, this type of vehicle also has some apparent weaknesses. Firstly, to achieve high-speed swimming performance, the vehicle’s armour protection was sacrificed to reduce the overall combat weight. Secondly, the vehicle’s bulky hull, which helps the vehicle afloat in the water, become useless and even a burden once the vehicle is ashore. As a result, these dedicated amphibious armoured vehicles were vulnerable when facing enemy armour forces.

Conventional armoured vehicles in the PLA service such as the Type 63 and Type 89 APCs and the Type 86 infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) all possess limited amphibious capability, a common feature seen on almost all Soviet/Russian and Chinese designs. These armoured vehicles use their tracks for propulsion in the water, which produces an average swimming speed of merely 6~8km/h. This amphibious capability was mainly for river-crossing operations (less than 1km water travelling). However, in an amphibious assault operation, the vehicle must travel over 10km or more to reduce the risk to navy ships from enemy mines and defences. The existing amphibious capability of these vehicles is therefore highly insufficient.

To improve the armoured vehicle’s amphibious capability without sacrificing their combat effectiveness, the PLA introduced various amphibious modification packages as an interim solution before a more capable design becomes available. The core concept of this modification is to fit the existing armoured vehicles with “add-on” floating tanks and outboard motors. These additional features provide the vehicle with much improved performance in the water. Once the vehicle reaches the landing beach, it can have these equipments quickly detached and get ready for land battle.

Recent photos released by Chinese press showed that most obsolete Type 77 amphibious armoured carriers in service with the PLA Marine Corps have now been replaced by the Type 63 APC and Type 86 IFV with amphibious modifications. A typical modification package normally includes two floating tanks (one front, one rear) and one or more outboard motors. The two new Amphibious Mechanised Divisions formed between 2001 and 2004 are also equipped with these types of armoured vehicles. Compared to the Type 77, these armoured vehicles provide a more capable combat capability as well as better armour protection to its crew.

Type 63C APC: An PLA Type 63 armoured personnel carrier (APC) with the amphibious upgrade package (Source: Chinese Internet)

Type 86B IFV: An PLA Marine Type 86 infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) fitted with floating tanks and an outboard motor (Source: Chinese Internet)

Type 86B IFV: A PLA Type 86 IFV with a different amphibious upgrade package (Source: Chinese Internet)