BSCh-12
| BSCh-12 | |
|---|---|
| File:BSCh-12 Prototype.png | |
| Type | Infantry fighting vehicle |
| Place of origin |  Menghe |
| Service history | |
| In service | 2025? |
| Used by | Menghean Army |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 2015-present |
| Specifications (Sije-Chalyang 223) | |
| Weight | 60 tonnes (est.) |
| Width | 3.42 m |
| Height | 2.68 m to turret roof |
| Crew | 3 (driver, gunner, commander) |
| Passengers | 10 |
| Armor | welded steel plate Ceramic/composite armor |
Main armament | 40mm ZP-40 CTA autocannon |
Secondary armament | 7.62mm TR-77DK (co-axial) 7.62mm TR-77DK (commander) |
| Engine | 10-cylinder diesel 1600 hp |
| Suspension | hydraulic |
| Ground clearance | 36 cm |
| Speed | 70 km/h (road) |
The BSCh-9 (Menghean: 분대 수성 장갑차, Bundae Susong Janggabcha) is a type of next-generation IFV currently under development in the Socialist Republic of Menghe. It is expected to enter service between 2020 and 2025, supplementing the BSCh-9 IFV.
Background
Work on a new Menghean IFV appears to have started in 2015, as a response to combat experience in the Innominadan Crisis and escalating tensions along the border with Maverica. Publicly available Army documents claim that Menghean BSCh-9s had performed well in that conflict, suggesting that the BSCh-12 was intended as a long-term generational improvement rather than a hasty fix for recently discovered problems.
Little was publicly known about the project until October 2016, when a group of anonymous hackers gained access to blueprints and design logs relating to the BSCh-12 project and published them online. Only fragments of the design logs were available, and it appeared that the project was still in an early stage, leading to speculation about the vehicle’s exact characteristics.
The Menghean government fiercely denounced the hacking as an attack on its national security infrastructure, and accused Columbian intelligence agencies of providing the necessary resources for the operation, but as of yet it is unclear whether state agencies were involved.
Design
The leaked files suggest that the BSCh program consists of three competing prototypes: Sije-Chalyang 216, 217, and 223. All three share some characteristics, such as the basic hull form and armor composition, and have the same number of passengers and crew. This suggests that at the time the designs were hacked, the Menghean Army had either chosen specific design priorities or eliminated competing vehicles.
Sije-Chalyang 216
Sije-Chalyang 216 appears to have been the first design entry. Unique among Menghean IFVs, it has space for ten passengers rather than seven, with two rows of five inward-facing seats in a sealed rear compartment. This would allow the vehicle to carry a full infantry squad rather than a downsized one, and would eliminate the need for the sergeant/commander to dismount in an assault. To make room for the larger passenger compartment, the vehicle uses an unmanned zero-penetration turret, with the three crew members seated side-by-side in the front.
Another interesting innovation in the Sije-Chalyang 216 and its sister vehicles is the use of four compact machine-gun turrets on the roof. These are remote-controlled by the dismounts in the troop compartment, and appear to be intended as a replacement for conventional firing ports, which were present on the BSCh-5 but dropped on the BSCh-9 to allow for thicker side armor.
Sije-Chalyang 216 and the other prototypes are also exceptionally well-armored, leading some analysts to classify them as “Heavy IFVs.” On all three vehicles, the hull front has a line-of-sight thickness of 77 centimeters when viewed head-on, and appears to use layered steel plates to improve efficiency against HEAT and APFSDS ammunition. Side armor is thicker than on the BSCh-9Ch, and appears designed to provide all-around protection against man-portable light anti-armor weapons. Total weight is not listed in any of the design logs but has been estimated at 50 to 55 metric tonnes.
Sije-Chalyang 217
This is the second prototype in the series, and differs from the 216 in having its remote turret moved further back, with two of the four machine-gun turrets moved ahead of it and a longer slope on the front hull. Otherwise, it is identical in layout and characteristics.
Of the three vehicles, Sije-Chalyang 217 had the least information in the hacked design logs, suggesting that it may be slated for rejection.
Sije-Chalyang 223
The third prototype appears to have been a more recent development, and resembles the 216 but with a conventional manned turret rather than a remote one. This may have been a backup measure by Menghean Army staff, who have generally shown a conservative attitude toward remote-controlled main armament. Notably, this arrangement also allows 12 degrees of gun depression by seating the turret further forward, allowing the vehicle to compensate for its above-average height by fighting from a hull-down position.
Space for the turret basket is gained by slightly widening and lengthening the vehicle and seating the driver alongside a more compact engine block. These changes, along with the use of an armored rather than unarmored turret, are estimated to have increased the vehicle’s weight by roughly ten metric tonnes. Design logs suggest that a new engine model will be used to compensate for the added weight and smaller available space, and suggest the use of a gas turbine.
Subsequent Developments
In March 2017, rumors began to circulate that a vehicle matching the description of Sije-Chalyang 223 was conducting mobility trials in northern Chikai province. The Menghean Army claims that this was an up-armored BSCh-9Ch, and some skeptics of the program have suggested that the BSCh-12 program is still too early in development to have a functioning prototype.