Type 08

ZBL-08 Snow Leopard
File:Vn1-1.jpg VN-1.
Place of origin	People's Republic of China
Service history
In service	since 2009
Production history
Manufacturer	NORINCO
Specifications
Weight	15 to 20 t
Length	8 m (26 ft)
Width	2.1 m (6.9 ft)
Height	3 m (9.8 ft)
Crew	3
Passengers	7 to 10
Primary armament	105 mm Royal Ordnance L7 cannon (Anti tank variant) with ST1 export variant 122 mm howitzer (SPH variant) 155 mm howitzer (SPH variant) 120 mm mortars (self propelled mortar variant) 12.7 mm gun (APC variant) 30 mm AO-18K rotary cannon (air defense variant) UW4 30 mm remote weapons station or 30 mm cannon (IFV variant) 35 mm KDG revolver autocannon (anti-aircraft variant) 30 mm gun (VN-1)
Secondary armament	HJ-73 Anti-Tank Guided Missile 7.62 mm machine gun
Engine	Deutz BF6M1015C diesel 440 hp
Suspension	8x8
Operational range	800 km
Speed	100 km/h

The ZBL-08 is a Chinese wheeled armored fighting vehicle.

It is a recent People's Republic of China produced family of 8x8 wheeled Infantry Fighting Vehicles. It's a modular design which claims to be able to field an APC model, an IFV model, an anti-tank gun model with an export variant, an Engineering model, a 122 mm self propelled howitzer model, a 155 mm self propelled howitzer model, an air defense model, a self-propelled mortar model, a recon model, a command vehicle model, and an export version dubbed the VN-1.

Variants

• IFV - Original IFV variant with a 2A72 30mm turret
• APC - APC variant with 12.7mm machine gun
• ZTL-08 - 105mm assault gun variant
• ST1 - 105mm assault gun export variant
• PLZ-08 - 122mm or 155mm howitzer
• PLL-08 - 120mm dual purpose mortar carrier
• CS/SA5 - air defense variant with a 6-barrel Gatling gun
• Air defense variant with a 35mm revolving autocannon
• SWS2 - air defense variant with a 35 mm autocannon, capable of firing "smart" munitions, and four surface-to-air missiles
• Reconnaissance
• Engineering
• Command
• VN-1 - export variant

Operators

Map of ZBL08 operators in blue

• China: PLAGF
• Venezuela: Bolivarian Marine Infantry
• Argentina: Argentine Army
• Thailand: The Royal Thai Army signed with China a contract to purchase 34 armored personnel carriers. the ZBL09 will be delivered by 2020 at the price of USD 1.695 million each.

External links

• "ZBL-09 Assault gun variant unveiled". China Defense Blog. 2011-07-29. http://china-defense.blogspot.com/2011/07/zbl-09-assault-gun-variant-unveiled.html. Retrieved 2013-12-05.