China’s Type 05 amphibious fighting vehicle is considered the backbone of Beijing’s amphibious strategy.
The Type 05 amphibious fighting vehicle has a total weight of 28 tons, is equipped with a high-power turbocharged engine and a new suspension system, so the vehicle has very good maneuverability. In terms of swimming ability, with 2 water jets, the vehicle can swim at speeds of up to 20 km/h in sea level 3 conditions.
In recent years, the Type 05 has had many major upgrades, such as a main gun capable of firing missiles, replacing the GPS navigation system with the Beidou, a new information system, etc. Type 05 is advertised as having a relatively strong offensive ability. Its main armament is a 105mm L7 rifled gun, a copy of the British 105 mm L7 gun. This gun was previously installed on the Type 63A amphibious fighting vehicle. Type 05 uses two main types of ammunition: armor-piercing and anti-infantry explosive shells. It carried a total of 38 rounds.
To improve anti-tank effectiveness, Type 05A upgraded the ability to launch missiles through the main gun. It uses laser-guided missiles with a maximum range of up to 5 km, the probability of hitting the target is 90%. Missiles launched from the main gun, in theory, have a perfect chance to help Type 05 destroy the enemy’s main battle tanks. However, in the context that all MBTs have very strong active self-defense capabilities, the chance of Type 05 victory are small.
With the new BeiDou navigation system, China wants to use a completely domestic satellite and communication system, ensuring the maximum level of secrecy and not being afraid of foreign influences. However, the death point of this system, comes from its popularity. Compared with US GPS, the coverage rate of BeiDou satellite in the world is much less. This makes the PLA Navy’s amphibious strategy abroad likely to be very difficult.
Type 05 also has a large LCD screen, which helps to control information about complex and rapidly changing battlefield situations. However, the effectiveness of this system has not been proven, especially in the environment of strong electronic suppression.
With the powerful upgrades of the Type 05, China hopes that it will improve the information processing ability and comprehensive combat effectiveness of the amphibious force. In fact, the PLA has not successfully organized a large-scale amphibious assault since its inception. In contrast, the United States is a country with too much experience in transoceanic warfare, with the ability to conduct amphibious assaults and provide extremely effective logistics. Obviously experience is something China takes time to accumulate.
