Origins The WZ-551 project began in 1979 and was the first wheeled infantry fighting vehicle developed by China. WZ-551 was developed with the experience gained from the development of the WZ-521 wheeled armored personnel carrier based on
Jiefang CA-30 truck. In 1981, WZ-551 finished prototyping
proof of concept designs, and the vehicle was an indigenous chassis based on the imported
Mercedes-Benz 2060 truck. Another project,
WZ-523 based on the domestic
Dongfeng EQ245 truck platform, was developed in parallel with WZ-551. Due to utilizing old technologies, WZ-523 was developed much faster with initial production, starting in 1983. It first appeared on the 35th
National Day parade in 1984. However, it was discovered that WZ-523 chassis cannot meet the required performance standard. WZ-523 project was then refocused for export effort and did not enter large scale service with the
People's Liberation Army (PLA).
Early prototypes WZ-551 project pressed on and produced several prototype vehicles with different armaments. To save development time, technologies from other Chinese vehicles were ported into the WZ-551, such as the sighting system, ventilation system,
overpressure NBC system from the
Type 86 IFV, 25 mm autocannon from the
ZSD-89-II infantry fighting vehicle, and electrical water discharge system from the
Type 63 amphibious tank. In 1984, the cooling system and transmission system finished testing. In 1986, two more prototypes were sent to
northern provinces and southern
Hainan island for cold and hot-weather trials. Plans were also made for an extended 4×4 and 8×8 vehicle family. In 1986, WZ-551 was confirmed by
Central Military Commission as the future PLA wheeled platform, beating the internal competitor WZ-523. In 1988, a deal was made with French firm
GIAT to incorporate a GIAT 25-mm
autocannon as the primary weapon for WZ-551 and the work on the redesign of WZ-551 began in China even before the French gun was delivered. Due to the urgent need to meet the schedule, the GIAT 25-mm autocannon was airlifted to China, as opposed to delivery via cargo ships, the usual practice at the time. The French system has a night-vision system, stabilized gun, and advanced fire control system. The new vehicle was named NGV-1, with N for "
Norinco", G for "
GIAT" and V for "vehicle". However, further NGV-1 development was cancelled due to the imposed EU
arms embargo in 1989. It is estimated that less than 100 units of WZ-551 (Type 90) were produced. One distinct visual difference between WZ-551A and its predecessors is that for WZ-551 (Type 90) and WZ-523, there's a significant gap between the front axle and the rear pair of wheels. On the WZ-551A, the distance is the same for all axles and wheels.
Further developments The 4×4 armored personnel carrier was developed for the
Chinese police forces. Chinese military also developed the
HJ-9 missile carrier and mobile air defense missile system based on the WZ-550 chassis. Other variants, such as PTL-02 assaults vehicle,
PLL-05 self-propelled
gun-mortar, were developed based on the WZ-551 chassis. In 1997, Chinese military reinvested interest in the development of road-mobile assault gun due to the
Third Taiwan Strait Crisis. The abandoned PTL-87 program was reintroduced and a new prototype, named PTL-97, was completed in 1997. Specifications: • Maximum target altitude: 4 km • Minimum target altitude: 15 meter • Maximum target range: 6 km • Minimum target range: 300 meter • Maximum target speed: > 400 meter / second • Maximum radar searching range: >20 km • Maximum radar tracking range: 10 – 12 km • System reaction time: 6 – 8 seconds == Design ==