China's military science and technology is developing at breakneck speed
Their companies and corporations continuously launch modern and cheap defense products and equipment, that are suitable for the pocket of all customers
One of the pillars of air defense that is trusted by the Chinese army today is the Type 95 self-propelled anti-aircraft artillery system, also known as PGZ95
The PGZ95 was born with the aim of enhancing the army's air defense capabilities
and as a counterweight to similar systems of "unfriendly" opponents such as India's Tunguska, Japan's Type 87, or South Korea's K30 Biho
It was first displayed publicly at the Beijing Military Parade in 1999
It is essentially an air defense system equipped with four 25 mm caliber cannons and optionally four fire-and-forget QW-2 infrared homing missiles
The vehicle uses a tracked armored chassis with six road wheels, a drive sprocket, an idler and three return rollers on each side
The crew of three: driver, commander, and gunner
The engine is located at the front of the vehicle, with the driver sitting on the left side
The driver is provided with a hatch and three vision blocks for visibility when buttoned up
Behind the driver sits the commander, who is provided with a raised hatch, also fitted with three vision blocks
Towards the rear of the hull is the large powered one-man turret. A door to the weapon control station is located in the rear of the hull.
Mounted on the front of the turret in an armored box is the electro-optical tracking equipment which consists of a TV tracking camera
and infra-red tracking camera and a laser rangefinder
The tracking cameras have a day range of approximately 6,000 meters and a night range of 5,000 meters
The laser rangefinder has a range of between 500 and 5,500 meters with an accuracy of 5 meters
Mounted on either side of the turret are two 25 millimeter Type 87 25x183mmB gas-operated cannons.
The cannons have a rate of fire of 600 to 800 rpm each, eject spent shell casings to either side of the vehicle
About 1,000 rounds are carried. The cannons are used to engage targets out to a range of 2,500 meters and at altitudes of up to 2,000 meters
Additionally two QW-2 infra-red homing missiles can be mounted above the cannons on each side
The QW-2 missiles are based on a shoulder-launched missile and can engage targets flying between 10 and 3,500 meters
in altitude at a slant range of between 500 and 6,000 meters, but has to be manually reloaded which is known to take about 2.45 minutes
To the rear of the turret is the CLC-1 S-band pulse-doppler search radar which has a reported range of 11 kilometers, and is optimized to detect low-flying targets
Finally, an array of four electrically fired smoke grenades are mounted on either side of the turret, aimed to fire forward and to either side of the vehicle
The system can automatically optically track targets and provide the gunner with an alert when the target is within range
The gunner can also manually aim the guns, using either the optical system or an external backup ring sight provided on the outside of the turret
The system has a reaction time of around 10 seconds when in radar search mode, and six seconds in optical mode
The vehicle also provides a simulator function for training
A battery control vehicle using the same chassis is also built. It has a crew of five people
It uses a S-band CLC-2 surveillance radar with a maximum range of 45 kilometers and a maximum altitude of 4,500 meters
The communication system in the vehicle allows it to communicate digitally to a range of up to 5 kilometers and via a normal radio link up to 15 kilometers
Additionally it can use signal wire to communicate up to 500 meters
An Auxiliary Power Unit provides power for the electronics. A single 12.7 mm heavy machine gun is provided for self-defense