Type 89

   The tracked Type 89 (YW 534) armored personnel carrier is a successor of the Type 531 series and the type has many design details in common with the very similar Type 531 APC (also known as the Type 85). some of which have been sold to Thailand. However the Type YW 534 is slightly larger overall. It is manufactured by NORINCO but powered by German Deutz diesel. The Type 89 is in service with the Chinese Army only.

   The base model of the Type 89 is fully amphibious with propulsion once in the water being provided by the tracks. Troops enter the vehicle via a single door in the hull rear. Once inside there are several ball-and-socket firing ports for the occupants, one being in the entry door, and periscopes are provided to allow observation of the battlefield for the occupants.

   A collective NBC protection system is provided for both the crew and occupants. The main armament on the Type 89 APC remains a single 12.7-mm machine gun, located over a forward roof hatch for air and local defence.

   On the Type 307 IFV, a variant of the Type 89, the main armament is increased to an externally mounted 25-mm cannon with a coaxial 7.62-mm MG. Inside the Type 307 infantry fighting vehicle the number of troops carried is reduced to seven (plus the driver and commander) although the combat weight is increased to 15.4 t.

   There is also a Red Arrow anti-tank guided missile carrier variant of the Type 89 which carries over the same four-missile turret launching arrangements as the earlier Type 63 APC; extra missiles are carried inside the hull for reloading once the turret has been lowered into the raised roof superstructure over the rear hull.