Recently, the PLA unveiled two new armored fighting vehicles to their growing arsenal of land-based weapon systems, both of which will likely be featured in an upcoming military parade that celebrates their victory over Imperial Japan some 80 years ago. The ZTZ-201, as its been named, is an all-new medium tank that weighs roughly 35-40 tons, and boasts an active protection system that is designed to ward off incoming airborne threats that include both drones and anti-armor missiles.

Smaller than their standard ZTZ-99 main battle tank and featuring a modular design so that a family of armored fighting vehicles can be created from a common base, the vehicles are likely being fast-tracked so that a significant number of them can be built and fielded should a shooting war erupt with Taiwan in the not-too-distant-future. The tank boasts an impressive 105mm caliber gun while its sister infantry fighting vehicle is armed with a 30mm cannon and can likely haul a 10-man squad in its rear compartment.

The tank features a reinforced dynamic protection shell attached to the hull sides and turret, that is designed to rely less upon steel and applique armor to shield the vehicle from various threats in favor of speed and agility. A three-man crew, seated within a capsule towards the front of the vehicle, has been developed for crew protection and survivability and an autoloader has been incorporated within the turret to both reduce the size of the crew as well as speed up target acquisition and firing. Each crew member likely wears an augmented reality head set that provides all-around viewing thanks to a complete set of externally embedded sensors and cameras.

Needless to say information remains classified regarding the composition of these protective shells. And, with the weight reduction, its not clear if these vehicles are designed to be air-transportable, thereby aiding Marines and other ground-based assets in the early hours of a seaborne invasion.