Chapter No. 3 Chinese model 96 combat vehicles, and VN-17 model combat APCs in the light brigades.
In addition, to the heavy tank brigades in which Merkava tanks and Medium tanks will serve together, and the medium brigades with there medium tanks ('Panther') will serve together there is room for another type of armored brigades called "Light Brigades".
These brigades will not have Merkava tanks, they will mainly have Chinese type 96 tanks (photo No’- 1) and Chinese IFV called VN-17. (Picture #2) China has about 2,500 type 96 tanks and I would love to purchase them all.
The light tank brigade will have some battalions and they are:
1. 2-3 battalion of Chinese Combat Vehicles upgraded from the type 96 tank
2. 1 battalions of VN-17 IFV.
3. 18-24 VN-17 vehicles carrying 120 mm mortar and loitering munition.
The amount of the vehicles will be established after we will get some info, about the quantities of the type 96 that we can buy and the rate of the VN -17 manufactures that we can get. Lets say about 500 VN-17 and 1,500 type 96.
Photo No’-1 the Chinese type 96
1. Upgrade type 96 tanks to Combat Vehicles.
And the upgrades are:
1.1 Upgrade the power unit and everything related to the vehicle's mobility.
1.2 Install a new unmanned turret with a 57 mm cannon and replace the coaxial machine gun with a 25 mm cannon.
1.3 Install an "Autonomous Combat Unit" (ACU) behind the turret.
1.4 Install an anti-aircraft/anti-tank turret on top of the 57 mm turret.
You can read about the upgrades in chapter #2 on the "medium tanks".
2. Upgrading the VN-17 combat IFV.
The VN-17 is a heavy IFV that is manufactured in China and is a development based on the purity of Chinese thought and is not a copy of a Western or Russian vehicle.
This vehicle weighs 30 tons, it's protected from 7.62 mm bullets and maybe the front is protected too.
You can see that the vehicle is wrapped with reactive armor that upgrade his armor protection, it has 1,000 hp engine connected to an automatic transmission, the vehicle speed is 70 km/h and a travel range is 500 km. It carries a turret with 30 mm cannon and a 7.62 mm machine gun, and one anti-tank missiles installed on each side of the turret. In the turret are installed modern sighting devices and sensors. The commander and the gunner sit in the turret and the driver sits in the front of the turret. The vehicle carries 7 unloading fighters. In the vehicle we will do some upgrades:
Upgrade of the turret.
Instillation of the"Autonomous Combat Unit" (ACU)
Istillation of AA/AT turret on the main turret.
Photo No’-2 The Heavy IFV VN-17
1. Upgrade the turret.
The origenal turret that we can see in photo No'-2 we will replace with the turret in photo No'-4. this turret carry 57 mm gun and machine gun in caliber of 7.62 mm.
Photo No'-4 The BMP-3 with the turret AU-220M
The 57 mm gun has rate of fire of 80 rounds per min. and range of 14 km.
2. Installation of the " Automated Fighting Unit"-(ACU) a 20 mm Gatling gun.
On the turret above the commander's vision block , we will install a 20 mm Gatling gun called M-197 (photo #3). The idea behind this upgrade is that a combat vehicle needs at least 2 sources of fire in the vehicle. These cannon will be able to control with fire 360 degrees around the vehicle and can fire at any direction against various types of flying objects. These cannon have 2 rates of fire: low rate of 750 rounds per minute and a high rate of 1,500 rounds per minute.
In this arrangement The gunner will operate the 30 mm cannon in the turret and the commander will operate the 20 mm Gatling gun on the roof of the turret.
Photo No’-3 20 mm Gatling gun
2.2. Installation of an "autonomous combat unit" (ACU) behind the turret.
The ACU is an "Autonomous Combat Unit", (the concept of the ACU can be seen in photo No’- 4) that is built from a large ammunition box that is installed behind the turret and protrudes from both sides of the turret like two "big ears", on each of the ears I will install
a Gatling HMG in caliber of 0.5.” The (HMG) has a range of 2,000 meters and a rate of fire of 1,000 or 2,000 rounds per minute. (Photo #5) The ammunition for the HMG will be stored in the ammunition box behind the turret. These HMGs will be activated by "Artificial Intelligence"(AI) and will open fire against anyone that threatens the IFVs or the APCs automatically and without the commander or the gunner's contact, although they will remain in the loop for decisions regarding opening fire.
Photo No’-4 the ACU concept
Photo No’-5 the Gatling gun GAU-19
2.3 120 mm mortars.
In addition to these vehicles, the brigade will have the VN-17 vehicles carrying 120 mm mortars similar to the vehicle in picture No’-6, these mortar can have 2 barrels as seen below or with one barrel
Photo No’-6 Amos mortar with 2 barrels
The Amos mortar is loaded from the bottom has rate of fire of 24 rounds per minute and range of about 10 km. With smart rounds the range increases to 15 km. It seems that this mortar will fit on the VN-1, and VN-17.
The main fighting, and perhaps the first one, will be in the cities and villages of the west bank and Israel, and this addition will be welcome.
Massive use of mortars will reduce our casualties and increase the enemy's casualties.
Perhaps the issue of mortars that fire long-range explosives is fine, but we have the U-Vision company that produces loitering munitions and one of them called "Hiro-90" that has a range of about 40 km already. It was possible to install a suitable launcher that carries a number of weapons behind the turret and at each outpost to place a number of such vehicles. There are other types of loitering munition and they have a longer range and a heavier warhead. About the company: see link below: UVision https://uvisionuav.com/main-products/
Photo No’-8 The loitering munition Hero-90
Photo No’-9 multi launcher for Loitering munition
Short range lethal loitering systems
Extremely lightweight at 12 kg, the Hero-90 smart loitering system has a LOS datalink range of 40 km. Perfect for light vehicle targets, the solution can ensure 45 minutes of flight time while carrying a warhead of more than one kg.
Weight (with canister): 12 kg
Warhead: 1.2 kg
Range: 40+ km
Endurance: 45 min
Engine: Electrical
Launch method: Single/Multi-Canister
The loitering munition with its various types seems to be in my view an excellent addition to the IDF artillery system.