The is an armoured vehicle that entered service with
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
in 1996. This vehicle complements the existing fleet of tracked
Type 73 Armored Personnel Carrier
The is a tracked armored personnel carrier that entered service with Japan Ground Self-Defense Force in 1973. In 1996 the JGSDF adopted the wheeled Type 96 Armored Personnel Carrier to supplement the Type 73.
Development
The Defense Agency's ...
s already in service.
Description
The driver sits on the right side of the vehicle with the engine to his left. This position is fitted with three periscopes, the center of which can be replaced by a passive night vision periscope. For service in Iraq it appears that this position was fitted with an assembly of three windows to enable the driver to drive with his head out of the vehicle for greater situational awareness while still protected from small-arms fire. Behind him is the commander/gunner in a cupola that traverses 360° that can carry either a
40 mm grenade launcher (Type A) or a
.50 caliber (12.7 mm) M2HB machine gun (Type B). The passenger compartment has space for 8 infantrymen who can use 2 firing ports on each side.
As of 2001 Japan reported to the
United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs
The UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) (french: Bureau des affaires du désarmement) is an Office of the United Nations Secretariat established in January 1998 as the Department for Disarmament Affairs, part of United Nations Secretary-Gen ...
that 72 Type 96s were in service, with an additional 22 procured that year. 365 vehicles had been produced as of 2014.
Replacement
On 10 January 2017, a new 8×8 APC prototype called the Wheeled Armoured Vehicle (Improved) was handed off to the Japanese Armed Forces to replace the 365 Type 96 vehicles in service. Developed by the
Japanese Defense Ministry
The is an executive department of the Government of Japan responsible for preserving the peace and independence of Japan, and maintaining the country’s national security and the Japan Self-Defense Forces.
The ministry is headed by the Mi ...
in collaboration with
Komatsu Limited
or () is a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures construction, mining, forestry and military equipment, as well as diesel engines and industrial equipment like press machines, lasers and thermoelectric generators. Its headquart ...
, this next generation wheeled vehicle was designed to offer more protection against
improvised explosive device
An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mecha ...
s (IEDs) with a similar layout to the
Patria AMV
The Patria AMV (Armored Modular Vehicle) is an 8×8 multi-role military vehicle produced by the Finnish defence industry company Patria.
The main feature of the AMV is its modular design, which allows the incorporation of different turrets, wea ...
and
Stryker
The Stryker is a family of eight-wheeled armored fighting vehicles derived from the Canadian LAV III. Stryker vehicles are produced by General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada (GDLS-C) for the United States Army in a plant in London, Ontario. I ...
providing the Japanese Army with a family of different vehicles on a common chassis. The new vehicle proposed is longer, higher and heavier than the Type 96.
The ''Wheeled Armoured Vehicle (Improved)'' prototype is 8.4 m (27 ft) long, 2.5 m (8 ft) wide, and 2.9 m (9 ft) high, weighing 20 tons and carries two crew and nine troops with a new more powerful 500 hp diesel engine and strengthened suspension to run at 100 km/h. The vehicle will equip JGSDF combat and combat-support units for peacekeeping operations as well as “counter island invasion” scenarios. Trials of the prototype were intended to continue until 2019. This has since been delayed due to issues with the armor quality of the prototypes, however trials were resumed again in May 2019.
On December 9, 2022, the Japanese Ministry of Defense awarded a contract for the
Patria AMV
The Patria AMV (Armored Modular Vehicle) is an 8×8 multi-role military vehicle produced by the Finnish defence industry company Patria.
The main feature of the AMV is its modular design, which allows the incorporation of different turrets, wea ...
through Patria Japan.
Operators
*: 365 (2014)
See also
*
Type 16 maneuver combat vehicle
The is a wheeled armored fighting vehicle of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force.
Overview
The ''Type 16'' maneuver combat vehicle (MCV) equips designated combat units. Due to its light weight and small size, it is designed for easy depl ...
– another new 8x8 wheeled vehicle, similar in weight and length.
Comparable ground systems
*
Stryker
The Stryker is a family of eight-wheeled armored fighting vehicles derived from the Canadian LAV III. Stryker vehicles are produced by General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada (GDLS-C) for the United States Army in a plant in London, Ontario. I ...
*
LAV III
The LAV III, originally named the Kodiak by the Canadian Army, is the third generation of the Light Armoured Vehicle (LAV) family of armored personnel carriers built by General Dynamics Land Systems – Canada (GDLS-C), a London, Ontario, base ...
/
LAV AFV/
LAV-25
The LAV-25 is a member of the LAV II family. It is an eight-wheeled amphibious armored reconnaissance vehicle built by General Dynamics Land Systems and used by the United States Marine Corps and the United States Army.
History
During the 1980s ...
/
ASLAV
*
Amphibious Combat Vehicle
*
K808 Armored Personnel Carrier
The K808/806 White Tiger ( ko, 백호 "Baekho", Hanja: 白虎) wheeled armored personnel carrier is family of 8x8 and 6x6 armored vehicles. Developed by Hyundai Rotem as a private venture in 2012, the Korean Army declared a plan to acquire 60 ...
*
Tusan AFV
*
Boxer
*
Freccia IFV
The Freccia ( it, Arrow) is an Italian 8x8 wheeled Infantry fighting vehicle in use with the Italian Army. The first batch of 249 vehicles were ordered to replace Cold War VCC-2 armoured personnel carriers of the Mechanized Brigade "Pinerolo" ...
*
BTR-90
BTR-90 (GAZ-5923) (russian: бронетранспортёр, translit= Bronetransportyor, lit=Armoured Transporter) is an 8×8 wheeled armored personnel carrier developed in Russia, designed in 1993 and first shown publicly in 1994. It is a large ...
*
VPK-7829 Bumerang
*
ZBL-08
*
CM-32
*
Patria AMV
The Patria AMV (Armored Modular Vehicle) is an 8×8 multi-role military vehicle produced by the Finnish defence industry company Patria.
The main feature of the AMV is its modular design, which allows the incorporation of different turrets, wea ...
*
BTR-4
The BTR-4 "Bucephalus" (, abbreviation of uk, Бронетранспортер, links=no, lit=armoured transporter, translit=Bronetransporter, label=none) is an amphibious 8x8 wheeled Infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) designed in Ukraine by t ...
*
Saur 2
*
VBCI
The Véhicule Blindé de Combat d'Infanterie (English: ''Armoured Infantry Fighting Vehicle'') or VBCI is a French Infantry fighting vehicle designed and manufactured by GIAT Industries (now Nexter Systems) and Renault Trucks Defense to replace ...
*
KTO Rosomak
*
FNSS Pars
The Pars ( Turkish for Anatolian leopard) is an amphibious armoured combat vehicle family with 4x4, 6×6 and 8×8 versions, produced by FNSS Defence Systems of Turkey.
Development
The development of the PARS vehicles commenced in 2002, based ...
*
MOWAG Piranha
Notes
External links
Type 96 on military-today.com
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017
Japan Ground Self-Defense Force
Armoured personnel carriers of the post–Cold War period
Post–Cold War military equipment of Japan
Armoured personnel carriers of Japan
Komatsu Limited
Eight-wheeled vehicles
Military vehicles introduced in the 1990s