BSCh-9
| BSCh-9 | |
|---|---|
| File:BSCh-9.png | |
| Type | Infantry fighting vehicle |
| Place of origin |  Menghe |
| Service history | |
| In service | 2009-present |
| Used by | Menghe Dzhungestan |
| Wars | Innominadan Crisis |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Taekchŏn Heavy Industries |
| Designed | 1996-2008 |
| Manufacturer | Chikai Jŏncha Gongjang (2008-present) Hwaju Armored Vehicle Plant (2013-present) |
| Produced | 2008-present |
| No. built | 9,700 |
| Variants | BSCh-9A, BSCh-9B, BSCh-9Ch |
| Specifications (BSCh-9A) | |
| Weight | 29.4 tonnes (basic) 36.2 tonnes (with armor modules) |
| Length | 6.86 m |
| Width | 3.25 m |
| Height | 2.52 m to turret roof |
| Crew | 3 (driver, gunner, commander) |
| Passengers | 7 (6 in squad plus 1 in platoon HQ) |
| Armor | welded steel plate Ceramic/composite (applique kits) |
Main armament | 32mm GP-32/85 autocannon |
Secondary armament | 2x YDCh-18 ATGM 38mm JYB-38 automatic grenade launcher |
| Engine | 10-cylinder diesel 740 hp |
| Power/weight | 25.2 hp/tonne |
| Suspension | torsion-bar |
| Ground clearance | 38 cm |
Operational range | 800 km |
| Speed | 70 km/h (road) |
The BSCh-9 (Menghean: 분대 수송 장갑차, Budae Susong Janggabcha, lit. "Squad Transporting Armored car") is a type of Infantry fighting vehicle designed and produced in the Socialist Republic of Menghe by Taekchon Heavy Industries (formerly the Inmin-Chŏlgang-Nodongja design burau). Compared to its predecessor, the BSCh-5, it features heavier armor, a higher power-to-weight ratio, a more ergonomic troop compartment, and provision for a heavier autocannon armament. It is also significantly heavier: even the basic BSCh-9A without applique armor is nearly twice the weight of the BSCh-5. Consequently, the BSCh-9 is not amphibious, a drawback which required revisions of Menghean Army doctrine and which limits its usefulness in certain marshy areas along the border with Maverica.
Development
Work on the BSCh-9 began in the late 1990s. During this time, the Socialist Republic of Menghe was attempting to pivot its attention toward expeditionary warfare, and combat experience had uncovered certain flaws with the BSCh-5. In particular, the old IFV lacked protection against light anti-armor weapons such as the RPG-7, and its side armor could be pierced by heavy machine-guns firing saboted armor-piercing ammunition.
This led the Menghean People's Army High Command to request the development of a new IFV, one which could withstand light anti-armor threats from all directions. This would allow it to fight more effectively in cities and towns against unconventional threats. Because of this new demand, amphibious capability was deliberately sacrificed, in the belief that a counter-insurgency force would have more leeway to rely on bridges and prepared crossings.
Design work proceeded slowly at first, in part due to disagreements over how to best design a vehicle for counter-insurgency fighting. The first working prototype, Sije-Chalyang 151, rolled out of the factory in November 2003. It was generally similar to the BSCh-9A of today, but featured a boxier hull with spaced and composite armor built into the hull’s front and sides, for a total weight of 41 tonnes. The vehicle performed adequately in field trials, but defeat in the 2004-2005 Ummayan Civil War forced the Menghen Army to reconsider its priorities and pivot back to conventional warfare. The Army froze new orders of the BSCh-9 and ordered major revisions to the prototype, hoping to lessen weight and possibly restore amphibious capability.
Taekchŏn's design team responded by switching to a lighter hull form, with the option to add applique armor modules to the sides and rear. The turret and internal layout, right down to the type and arrangement of electronics and mechanical systems, were kept the same. This cut weight down to 29.4 tonnes for the “base” model and 36.2 tonnes with applique armor. Nevertheless, the former type was still too heavy to swim on its own, so the designers added provisions to mount a simple folding screen that could lift around the rectangular hull and provide floatation. Tests with this configuration proceeded in 2006, and they were found to allow amphibious crossings, though the system was never fitted in practice due to concerns about safety. Not fully satisfied with the changes, but urgently in need of a new IFV to confront the militaries of Maverica and Innominada, the Menghean Army approved the prototype for service as the BSCh-9A.
Design
Layout
In terms of its internal layout, the BSCh-9 is somewhat similar to the BSCh-5: the driver is seated in the front left with the engine on his right, the turret with gunner and commander is directly behind him, and the troop compartment is behind that. The main change concerns the location of the 7th passenger, usually a member of the Platoon HQ. In the BSCh-5, this passenger sits behind the driver. In the BSCh-9, however, he is moved to the rear troop compartment; the space for an 8th seat across from him is used for storage. This allows all passengers to disembark through the rear; in the BSCh-5, the marksman had to disembark by means of an overhead hatch, exposing him to enemy small-arms fire. Like its predecessor, the BSCh-9 also has two long hatches on top of the passenger compartment, allowing the dismounts to stand on their seats and fire from a semi-covered position at the risk of exposing themselves to shrapnel, contaminants, and small-arms fire.
One disadvantage of this layout is that it denies the 7th passenger a clear view of the battlefield. On the BSCh-5, the lieutenant could at least survey areas ahead of the vehicle, though the turret prevented him from looking backward. On the BSCh-9, by contrast, the passenger compartment lacks any viewports save for those in the rear door (see below). As such, it is standard practice for the Platoon Lieutenant to swap places with the Squad Sergeant, who normally occupies the vehicle commander position in the turret. Like the commander in a tank platoon, the lieutenant is both the commander of the platoon and the commander of his individual vehicle. The Platoon NCO usually does the same, so that only the third vehicle is commanded by its squad sergeant. This has the added advantage of ensuring that more IFVs have a commander to direct fire while the squad, including the sergeant, is dismounted.
An interesting feature of the 7th passenger seat is that its cover can be pulled away to reveal a chemical toilet beneath. A small modesty curtain can fold across the crew compartment to provide privacy. This feature, added in the post-2005 redesign, allows passengers and crew members to relieve themselves without breaking the vehicle’s CBRN seal, a useful feature when operating in environments contaminated by recent enemy chemical weapons use. Additional space inside the vehicle, including the areas beneath the seats and opposite the 7th passenger, is used to store field rations, ammunition, and other supplies for the squad, including four additional disposable rocket launchers and two spare ATGMs. The latter can only be reloaded by exiting the vehicle.
Armament
Main armament on the BSCh-9A is identical to the main armament of the BSCh-5E: a 32mm autocannon with a 7.62mm DG-71JCh machine-gun as coaxial, four YDCh-18 SACLOS ATGMs, and a 38mm grenade launcher on the commander’s cupola. The latter weapon was selected in order to allow more effective suppression of enemy infantry in light structures and in the open. The autocannon carries 600 rounds of ammunition, with separate HE and AP feeds, in a tray underneath the turret, and can switch between 250rpm and 500rpm. It is also fully stabilized in both axes, allowing the vehicle to fire accurately while on the move.
From the beginning of the design process, however, Taekchŏn intended to develop a variant with a new turret and a heavier autocannon. The reason for doing this was to catch up with IFV development elsewhere; the latest Innominadan models, much like the BSCh-9A, were protected against 32mm armor-piercing rounds over the frontal arc. BSCh-9B, which made its service debut in 2013, added a new turret with a 50mm autocannon based on the Model 1942 AA gun. Due to the size of the firing mechanism and the length of the ammunition, however, it could hold far fewer rounds than the BSCh-9A, and had a lower rate of fire. The gunner and commander’s stations were also very cramped, with poor ergonomics and difficult access to the troop compartment. Only about 400 were built before orders stopped, making up about 5% of all BSCh-9s in service.
A later upgrade, the BSCh-9Ch, struck a compromise by using the Oyashimese-designed 40mm CTA autocannon. This fires more compact ammunition, allowing an increase in storage back to 600 rounds. Its APFSDS projectile is somewhat less effective, but is still able to penetrate most existing IFV armor threats, as well as some older tanks over the side arcs. It also comes with airbursting HE ammunition, which removes the need for the separate automatic grenade launcher. To improve protection, the type also came with a different applique armor configuration, apparently consisting of bolted-together boxes of layered spaced armor to stop armor-piercing ammunition and disrupt HEAT jets. As of 2016, the BSCh-9Ch has replaced the BSCh-9A in all new production, with deliveries concentrated among high-priority units along the Maverican border. Nevertheless, due to its recent implementation, it only makes up about one-eighth of all existing BSCh-9 vehicles.
ATGMs
The BSCh-9A carries two YDCh-18 SACLOS beam-riding anti-tank missiles, one on either side of the turret. These have a range of 6,000 meters and can penetrate 1200 millimeters of armor after ERA, but rely on line-of-sight targeting and require the vehicle to remain still while the missile is in flight. The BSCh-9B retained this armament but moved the missiles to a single twin box on the left side of the turret.
On the BSCh-9Ch, these are replaced with two YDCh-72 missiles in the same position as those on the BSCh-9A. The YDCh-72 has a fire-and-forget mode and does not require continuous line of sight with the target, allowing it to be fired from cover or while the vehicle is moving. As on all YDCh-72 vehicle mounts, the gunner can manually guide the missile for the first stage of its flight using the seeker’s optical feed to his display screen, allowing him to acquire and lock onto a target after the missile has been launched.
Protection
Defense against light anti-tank weapons was a major demand of the BSCh-9 project, and even after the post-2005 revisions the type remains a very well-protected vehicle. The basic BSCh-9A can withstand 30mm APDS and ~300mm RHAe anti-tank rockets over the 60-degree frontal arc and direct impacts from the latest .50-caliber APDS over the sides and rear, even against the dismount ramp itself. The optional extra armor upgrade added to this, extending the 9A’s frontal protection over the sides and adding extra applique armor to the upper and lower glacis plate. Menghean Army sources state that this configuration is able to withstand frontal hits from the 125mm two-piece APFSDS used by the Maverican Bear tank, though it is unclear which model of ammunition this refers to or whether it has been tested in practice.
Weight increases to 38.2 tonnes when applique armor modules are mounted. This is slightly heavier than the MinChong-4 medium tank in its “B” version, though still about 10 tonnes shy of the MinChong-5. Width also increases from 3.25 to 3.65 meters. Because the engine was originally designed for an even heavier configuration, however, it retains a decent 19.3 horsepower-to-tonne ratio.
Like its predecessor, the BSCh-9 is equipped with an air filtration system and can be fully sealed against CBRN threats. It lacks side viewports and firing ports, as these would compromise the side armor and would be blocked by applique plates. It does, however, have two viewports and two firing ports on the rear door/ramp. In a threatening environment, two soldiers inside the vehicle can fire through these to clear threats to the rear before opening the ramp and dismounting. Optimal practice would be to dismount facing the enemy at a distance, but this may not always be possible in an unconventional war or a conventional urban engagement.
Mobility
The BSCh-9 is driven by a 740-horsepower (550-kilowatt) 10-cylinder diesel engine in the front right quadrant of the hull. This gives a power-to-weight ratio of 25.1 hp/tonne for the base version and 20.4 hp/tonne when applique armor is added. The entire powerpack can be removed in 15 minutes for maintenance, but even a routine check requires a crane to lift the heavy glacis armor. All variants use torsion bar suspension. The BSCh-9A is capable of maintaining 70 kilometers per hour on a level road or climbing a 20-degree slope, though with armor added its performance suffers somewhat. It also retains fittings to mount a fording screen around the edges of the hull for an amphibious crossing, but this has never been seen outside of prototype trials and production of the screens appears to have been discontinued.
Variants
Owing to its relatively thick hull armor, powerful engine, and lack of amphibious capability, the BSCh-9 has not been converted into very many specialist vehicles. Instead, the Menghean Army generally uses the GDYJ (가벼운 다용도 장갑차, Gabyŏun Dayongdo Janggabcha', "Lightweight Multipurpose Armored Vehicle"), a light tracked utility vehicle. The GDYJ is cheaper and can cross water obstacles, but it does not share any major parts with the BSCh-9, modestly complicating maintenance at the battalion level.
BSCh-9GCh
The BSCh-9GCh (정찰, Gyŏngchal) is a specialized reconnaissance variant of the BSCh-9. Its main difference is a larger turret with a three-man turret crew: in addition to the commander and the gunner, there is also a dedicated operator for the ground-surveillance radar. The radar system has a claimed range of 10 kilometers, and is able to detect and track both vehicles and personnel with good performance through foliage. The BSCh-9GCh also has a more powerful radio to transmit messages to ground troops further back.
In order to fit the enlarged turret, the passenger compartment is significantly smaller, with space for only four personnel. Though the dismount team is too light to assault defended areas, it can be used to set up a surveillance site, peer over hills under cover, or interview locals about the last sighted enemy movement. The dismount team usually carries one disposable tube launcher carrying a smoke projectile, with a second stored in the passenger compartment. The vehicle itself also carries additional banks of smoke grenade launchers.
BSCh-9DG
The BSCh-9DG (대공, Daegong, "Anti-Air") is a special variant of the BSCh-9 designed for short-range air defense. It is generally similar to the BSCh-9, but incorporates two quadruple YJG-38 MANPADS launchers, one on either side of the turret, in place of the ATGMs. A prototype of this weapon was first seen in 2013, based on the BSCh-9A hull, but all production versions are based on the BSCh-9Ch. The main armament is retained, but in a revised mount which allows an elevation of up to 80 degrees. To properly aim the weapon, the gunner also receives a new sight with a higher elevation and enhanced tracking capabilities: relying solely on the electro-optical targeting system, it is able to automatically track and generate firing solutions for helicopters and low-flying aircraft. The high-explosive airbursting ammunition feed is also replaced with a specialized anti-aircraft round that disperses prefragmented submunitions as it nears the preprogrammed target range. The BSCh-9DG is usually seen in Class 4 battalions, and is used to transport MANPADS squads with additional surface-to-air missiles, but it is a relatively new addition and similar vehicles are not present in Class 3 units.
Service
Menghe
As of late 2016, about 9,700 BSCh-9s of all combat variants have been produced for the Menghean Army so far, and the type remains in mass production. It is increasingly common in Class 3 active-duty units, but has not fully replaced the BSCh-5. The Marine Infantry have chosen to retain the BSCh-5 due to its amphibious capability, as have the Army’s River Crossing Brigades. BSCh-5s are also more common in the 6th Army and elements of the 7th and 9th Armies, as these formations would be expected to fight on marshy terrain along the Maverican border where small-river fording and impromptu amphibious crossings might be more common. By contrast, the 4th and 8th Armies have received large numbers of BSCh-9s, and appear poised to deploy them in an armored thrust against Innominada and Maverica’s southern border in the event of an offensive conflict.
When the BSCh-9 first entered production in 2008, it was manufactured by the Chikai Jŏncha Gongjang (Chikai Tank Factory) in the city of Jinchŏng, Chikai province. Formerly known as the Inmin-Chŏlgang-Nodongja Jŏncha Gongjang (People's Steelworker Tank Factory), this facility was originally one of the main production sites for the MinChong-4 medium tank. In 2012, after the last BSCh-5 rolled out of the Hwaju Armored Vehicle Plant, the factory's state parent company retooled the factory to produce BSCh-9s. As of 2015, both the Jinchŏng and Hwaju production sites are running at below full capacity, suggesting that the main goal of the retooling was not to accelerate production but to keep skilled military industrial jobs afloat in the city of Hwaju.
Dzhungestan
In 2011, Dzhungestan ordered 270 BSCh-9As from Menghe to equip two of its Mechanized Infantry Regiments. One battalion of these is stationed in the Republic of Innominada as part of the Coalition peacekeeping force along the border.