page_title: WZ-523
section_title: Operators
hierarchical_section_title: WZ-523 / Operators
caption_attribution_description: WZ-523 armoured personnel carriers of the Ghanaian Army, earmarked for peacekeeping operations.
context_page_description: The WZ-523 is a six-wheeled Chinese armored personnel carrier designed to be amphibious. Built on the chassis of the Hanyang HY472 truck, it can carry a crew of three and seat up to eight additional passengers. Two primary models were produced—one with a roof-mounted 12.7mm heavy machine gun, and the other with a small turret armed with a 35mm grenade launcher and a 7.62mm co-axial general purpose machine gun. An export model that entered service in 2008 as a fire support vehicle was also marketed successfully to the Namibian Army; this is armed with a 73mm 2A28 Grom smoothbore cannon in exactly the same turret as used on the Soviet BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicle.
  The WZ-523 was unveiled at a military parade in Beijing in October 1984, gaining the NATO designation M1984, although it was destined for export and did not enter large scale service with the People's Liberation Army. An internal security vehicle based on the WZ-523, the ZFB-91, which has a turret armed with a 35 mm grenade launcher and a 7.62 mm machine gun replacing the roof mounted 12.7 mm anti-aircraft machine gun of the WZ-523, is in service with PLA units in Hong Kong and Macau.
context_section_description:  China: 60 in service, not including ZFB91 variant.
   Chad: 10
   Ethiopia: 20
   Gabon: 3
   Ghana: 58 delivered in 2009-2010; 4 ambulance version delivered in 2012 and 24 others in 2013.
   Namibia: 21; export model incorporating the BMP-1 turret.
   Niger: 2
   Sudan: produced under license as the Shareef 2.
caption: WZ-523s in UN peacekeeping colors.
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