The armoured corps uses tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles as a major component of combat. It possesses strong mobility, assault capability and protection for the crews. The largest armoured formation is an armoured division, normally consisting of three armoured regiments and about 300 main battle tanks. The PLA ground forces currently have 9 armoured divisions and 9 armoured brigades.
Historically, armoured units in the PLA were mainly equipped with tanks, with little or no mechanised infantry support. There was little evidence of the use of armoured personnel carriers (APC) during the Sino-Vietnamese border conflict in 1979, and tanks were used as mobile artillery and as support for dismounted infantry.
The PLA’s modernisation in the 1990s had been largely focused mechanisation—acquisition of more advanced armoured platforms such as tanks, infantry fighting vehicles (IFV), armoured personnel carriers (APC), and self-propelled artillery guns. As a result, the PLA has been transformed from infantry-oriented force to a predominately mechanised and armour force. In 1998, tank units in the PLA began to be known as ‘armoured’ units to reflect their combined-arms nature.
In addition to traditional mechanised infantry troops which use tracked APC or IFV for mobility, new types of armoured units have been developed in the PLA, including light mechanised units using wheeled armoured vehicles and amphibious mechanised units using amphibious armoured vehicles. In recent years, the PLA has also been exploring the Information technology and net-centric warfare concepts in the development of its armoured forces and has formed its first 'digitised' armoured unit.
