China Commissions Armored Rescue Vehicle "for Galwan-like Terrain”

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has commissioned a new type of amphibious armored rescue vehicle for valley-spread high-altitude border regions like Galwan Valley.

The vehicles entered service with PLA Xinjiang Military Command forces stationed in plateau regions.

The front and two sides of the vehicle can resist close-range hits from 7.62mm armor-piercing rounds and shrapnel from explosives, and its eight wheels can run at 40 km an hour for 100 km even when penetrated by 12.7mm rounds, CCTV reported Friday.

“One of the highlights of the new rescue vehicle is its amphibious capability, as there are rivers in China’s western border regions, like the Galwan Valley, where China and India had a fatal conflict last year and the harsh-cold river water played an important role,” a Beijing-based military analyst told the Global Times on Sunday.

It can also be used in other scenarios, like an amphibious landing in a potential reunification operation on the island of Taiwan, the analyst said.

In a recent exercise by a combined arms regiment affiliated with the Xinjiang Military Command, the vehicle reached the rescue point 4 km away within only five minutes despite complicated road conditions in the high-altitude mountains.

The vehicle is designed to withstand nuclear, biological and chemical attacks. It is equipped with medical resources including electrocardiogram monitors and respirators, and it allows simple surgeries for the heavily wounded thus winning time for later treatments, while also letting the lightly wounded return to combat as fast as possible, the CCTV report said.

The vehicle is also installed with dampers, handrails and safety belts to avoid secondary damage to the wounded when it traverses bumpy terrain, the report said, noting that it can carry eight lightly wounded and four heavily wounded in addition to medical staff.