Z21 Typhoon
| Z21 Typhoon | |
|---|---|
 The infantry fighting vehicle variant of the Z21 Typhoon (left) and the armored personnel carrier variant (right). | |
| Type | Main Battle Tank |
| Place of origin |  Zhenia |
| Service history | |
| In service | 2009-Present |
| Used by | Zhenia |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Signus Systems |
| Designed | 1999-2006 |
| Manufacturer | Signus Systems |
| Produced | 2008-present |
| No. built | 5,000+ (total variants) |
| Variants | Baseline: Z21 Typhoon IFV See below for variants |
| Specifications (Z21 Typhoon IFV) | |
| Weight | 38.9 metric tons (combat weight) |
| Length | 8.19 m |
| Width | 3.90 m (including side armor) |
| Height | 2.9 m to turret roof |
| Crew | 3 (driver, gunner, commander) |
| Passengers | 8 armed personnel |
| Armor | Reinforced aluminum base Composite Armor (turret and hull) |
Main armament | 1 x 40 mm CTA autocannon |
Secondary armament | 4 x Anti-tank guided missile launchers (separate compartment inside turret) 1 x 12.7 mm Eagle's Nest RWS 1 x 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun |
| Engine | EDE-09X Diesel-Electric Engine 900 hp |
| Suspension | In-arm suspension unit |
| Ground clearance | 45 cm |
Operational range | 540 km on internal fuel |
| Speed | 70 km/h (road) 48 km/h (offroad) |
The Signus Systems Z21 Typhoon (Zhenian: Z21 태풍), commonly the Z21 Typhoon Armored Fighting Vehicle (AFV), is a line of tracked armored fighting vehicles developed in Zhenia. Developed for service in the Greater Eastern Union Defense Forces and as a replacement for existing tracked armored vehicles in service, it was developed into numerous variants, although the infantry fighting vehicle and armored personnel carrier variants are the most notable; the former was developed with the intent to defeat other infantry fighting vehicles and some tanks in mind, while the armored personnel carrier variant focused on personnel protection, survivability and networking more than its predecessors.
Development
Work on the Z21 Typhoon initiated around the late 1990s, when the existing Z11 Cyclone, although it had superb amphibious capability and was geared towards rapid, expeditionary warfare, was starting to become outdated. There were concerns regarding the survivability of the Z11, amid the development of infantry fighting vehicles and anti-vehicle weapons around the world; soon, it became clear that the Z11 Cyclone, although a well-built platform based on fast-paced warfare, was not suitable and survivable in the battlefield of the 21st century.
With these in mind, proposals for what would eventually become the Z21 Typhoon mainly focused on increasing survivability, even at the expense of amphibious capability; while the Z11 Cyclone had waterjets for amphibious operations and had restricted its weight to under 25 tons, such design restrictions were removed when working on the new vehicle.