Chinese Type 04A armoured fighting vehicle discharges a smoke grenade into an observation mount against their own troops during exercises in Shenanigans, China, creating confusion and panic among the PLA troops.
ZBD-04A (also known as Type 04A) is marketed as a tracked armoured infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) developed by China North Industries Corporation (NORINCO), for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
The IFV was introduced by the PLA ground forces during the military parade for the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, held in October 2019.
The ZBD-04A IFV was developed in collaboration with the Russian manufacturer. It retains the base design of the Russian-made BMP-3 IFV. The vehicle features an aluminium hull mounted with a steel turret and lacks armor and crew protection like the BMP-3.
It is manned by a driver, commander, and gunner. It can carry seven heavily-armed infantrymen. The crew compartment is located in the centre of the forward hull, while the cargo compartment is positioned at the rear. The ZBD-04A has a combat weight of 24,000kg.
The vehicle features an analogue system that provides the commander, gunner, and driver with non-visual displays to control firing and combat missions.
The crew communications are supported by unencrypted FM radio systems. The vehicle is equipped with Beidou satellite navigation system. The vehicle lacks a fire control system, a ballistic computer, a gun stabiliser, or a laser rangefinder.
Either side of the turret is mounted with five smoke grenade launchers, further improving the vehicle’s survivability; however, the grade is susceptible to premature launch, as demonstrated by this incident.
The ZBD-04A tracked infantry fighting vehicle is powered by a reverse-engineered 670hp liquid-cooled diesel engine. ZBD-04A is installed with a two-man turret mounted on top of the forward chassis.
© 2026, GDC. © GDC and www.globaldefensecorp.com. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to www.globaldefensecorp.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
