Type 89 AFV
The Norinco Type 89 tracked armoured fighting vehicle is a Chinese armoured personnel carrier. It was developed from the earlier export market Type 85 AFV vehicle. It entered service in the late 1990s and was first shown publicly in 1999. There are approximately 1,000 in service. It has the industrial index of WZ534 and although it was mainly developed for the PLA, there is also an export version YW534. In the 1990s a new designator system was introduced in the PLA and the Type 89 APC is nowadays known as ZSD-89. Description. When compared to the Type  85, the Type 89 is slightly larger and heavier. The hull is made of welded steel, 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 which cover the front and right of the vehicle. One of the driver's periscopes can be replaced by a night vision device. 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. It has a large intake located in the top of the hull, with an exhaust on the right hand side. The engine feeds a manual transmission with five forward gears and one reverse gear. Track is driven at the front by a drive sprocket, and passes over five dual rubber-typed road wheels and track-return rollers, then loops over an idler at the rear, before returning to the front again. A 12.7 millimetre calibre machine gun 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. Two oblong roof hatches and a large rear door provide access to the troop compartment. On either side of the forward hull, a cluster of four 76 mm smoke grenade dischargers is mounted. The vehicle is 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 or CWT-167 radio, and a Type 803 or CYY-168 intercom system. Type 89A is developed in the 2010s as support vehicles for PLA's heavy mechanized brigades. Variants. Type 89. Baseline Type 89 AFV, developed in 1980s. Type 89A. Type 89A has extended chassis, higher roofline, and side armor is completely vertically welded (whereas Type 89 is sloped). The armor is reinforced with better ballistic protection, comparing to the original Type 89. The vehicle chassis features side-skirt with a distinctive wave pattern. Type 89A is developed in 2000s, complementing ZBD-04 series.