Type 96 Armored Personnel Carrier


The Type 96 Wheeled Armored Personnel Carrier is an armoured vehicle that entered service with Japan in 1996.

Description

The driver sits on the right side of the vehicle with the engine to his left. His position is fitted with three periscopes, the center of which can be replaced by a passive night vision periscope. For service in Iraq it appears that his position was fitted with an assembly of three windows to enable him to drive with his head out of the vehicle for greater situational awareness while still protected from small-arms fire. Behind him is the commander/gunner in a cupola that traverses 360° that can carry either a 40 mm grenade launcher or a.50 caliber M2HB machine gun. The passenger compartment has space for 8 infantrymen who can use 2 firing ports on each side.
As of 2001 Japan reported to the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs that 72 Type 96s were in service, with an additional 22 procured that year. 365 vehicles had been produced as of 2014.

Replacement

On 10 January 2017, a new 8×8 APC prototype called the Wheeled Armoured Vehicle was handed off to the Japanese Armed Forces to replace the 365 Type 96 vehicles in service. Developed by the Japanese Defense Ministry in collaboration with Komatsu Limited, this next generation wheeled vehicle was designed to offer more protection against improvised explosive devices with a similar layout to the Patria AMV and Stryker providing the Japanese Army with a family of different vehicles on a common chassis. The new vehicle proposed is longer, higher and heavier than the Type 96.
The Wheeled Armoured Vehicle prototype is 8.4 m long, 2.5 m wide, and 2.9 m high, weighing 20 tons and carries two crew and nine troops with a new more powerful 500 hp diesel engine and strengthened suspension to run at 100 km/h. The vehicle will equip JGSDF combat and combat-support units for peacekeeping operations as well as “counter island invasion” scenarios. Trials of the prototype were intended to continue until 2019. This has since been delayed due to issues with the armor quality of the prototypes, however trials were resumed again in May 2019.

Operators