The Chinese military is constantly receiving the latest defense products., adapting their troops to the conditions of modern combat. Among the new products of the military-industrial complex is the armored amphibious vehicle ZBL-09, first presented to the general public in 2009 year.
As noted in the publication Altair, ZBL-09 entered service with the PLA, probably, in May 2021 of the year, since even then exercises were conducted with their participation in the region of the Karakoram mountain range at an altitude of more than 4500 m above sea level.
The vehicle is armed with a 30mm cannon, 7,62-mm machine gun and ATGM HJ-73D. The main caliber is considered a copy of the Russian gun 2A72. It is stabilized and is fed simultaneously from two belts., supplying two different types of ammunition - armor-piercing with a sub-caliber projectile and high-explosive.
ZBL-09 can move through water at a speed 8 km/h thanks to two propellers, installed at the rear of the machine. The base armor provides ballistic protection against 12.7 mm armor-piercing bullets from 100 m in front and 7.62 mm armor-piercing 100 m on the sides. These parameters can be improved by installing additional armored panels..
According to the official publication of the People's Daily, 145-I brigade of the 73rd Army Group of the Ground Forces received another batch of ZBL-09. This unit is subordinate to the Eastern Theater Command of the PLA., covering the province of Guangdong in the southeastern part of the country and therefore responsible for possible operations in the Taiwan Strait.
As stated in Altair, to date, the manufacturer Norinco has given the 73rd Army Group at least 54 ZBL machines-09, designed to replace the obsolete BTR ZSL-92.
