The Chinese army received a new batch of ZTL-09 105-mm fire support vehicle.
Brigade of the 65th Army of China has received a new batch of ZTL-09 fire support vehicle.
The ZTL-09 is based on the ZBL-09 wheeled 8×8 armored personnel carrier chassis. The main role of this fire support vehicle is to engage enemy armor, fortifications and other targets. It supplements the previous PTL-02 fire support vehicle, based on the 6×6 APC. However the new ZTL-09 is fitted with a more powerful gun.
Wheeled fire support vehicles are cheaper to produce and maintain than main battle tanks. Also these have high speed and mobility on hard surface roads and can respond rapidly to various threats. These wheeled vehicles do not need heavy equipment transporters in order to relocate them on long distances.
