In the mid-80s China got a BMP-1, of Egyptian hands surely, and decided to apply a reverse engineering process and copy it. Externally the Type 86 is indistinguishable from the Soviet IFV, although it has a greater range of armament, such as an RPG type grenade launcher or HM-5 or QW-1 portable antiaircraft missiles.The armour protects the vehicle against 7.62mm impacts on the entire vehicle and 12.7mm impacts on the frontal arc. The Type 86 has a crew of 3 and can transport 8 soldiers, who access and leave the vehicle through the rear doors or through hatches in the roof, in the same way as in the Soviet vehicle.The main armament is a 73mm smoothbore low pressure gun, and has an effective range of about 1,200 meters, carrying 40 rounds inside the vehicle. Although the gun is not really effective against tanks, it can knock out any other type of armored vehicle. The HJ-73 anti-tank missiles can reach targets up to 3 km away, and the Type 86 IFV carries 1 missile ready to fire and 4 more to reload.The WZ-501 is totally amphibious, which obviously led to be used by the Chinese Naval Infantry. In the water it moves through its tracks and reaches a maximum speed of about 10 km/h. This variant has a folding panel on the front that helps prevent water from entering the interior during navigation, being otherwise similar to the vehicles from the Army.This is the Type 86B or WZ-501C variant, specially designed for the Naval Infantry. It has a higher hull along with a modified front to facilitate navigation. It also has an exhaust extension, a raised engine air intake, a high snorkel, an amphibious kit and a mount for an outboard engine on the rear of the hull.
