Sunday, December 11, 2016

China's new RWS.




via IHS Janes by Christopher Foss.
The UW4A RWS is armed with an electrically operated 30 mm dual-feed cannon and a 7.62 mm co-axial machine gun (MG), and is fitted with two banks of six 76 mm electrically operated grenade launchers on the lower part of the mount.
The RWS carries 120 rounds of 30 mm ammunition and 200 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition in the ready use position, with additional rounds carried in the hull for manual reloading. Ammunition is fed from the left and once the ready-use rounds have been expended one of the crew members is required to leave the platform in order to reload the weapons.
The weapon station traverses through 360° at a maximum speed of up to 45° per second and elevates from -5° to 55° at a maximum speed of up to 25° per second.
The UW4A's sensor pack in installed externally on the right side and consists of a day sight, a colour CCD camera, an uncooled thermal imager, and a laser rangefinder. The latter not only increases accuracy but makes certain that targets are engaged within the effective range of the armament.
Story here. 

The Chinese are making steady strides in improving their mechanized forces.  Think about it.  Only a decade or two ago they only operated obsolete equipment that couldn't measure up against Western armor.  Today?  At least on paper its every bit as good as what we're using.

The only confusing thing is this domestic/export market divide.  I think they're gonna find that unless the Chinese military operates the equipment that's being offered then they're gonna have a hard time selling it.  Think back to the F-20.  On paper everybit as good as the F-16 but not operated by the US.  It got no sales.

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