A tracked armored missile launching vehicle attached to a brigade under the PLA 76th Group Army launches anti-tank missile at a simulated target during a combined live-fire training exercise at the hinterland of the Kunlun Mountains in late June, 2020. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Sun Wei)

A new type of vehicle-mounted anti-tank missile is now being deployed by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), reports show. The new missile is more powerful than its predecessors due to the larger caliber, and is highly mobile when mounted on an off-road assault vehicle that can run in complicated terrain, analysts said on Thursday.

The recently revealed missile is China’s third-generation homing missile capable of attacking targets from above, or top attack, effectively destroying modern battle tanks among other targets, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Wednesday, citing video footage released earlier this month by tv.81.cn, the official video website of the PLA, which did not give any further details on the missile.

Compared with current anti-tank missiles in service with the PLA, this new missile has a larger caliber, the CCTV report said.

Top attack is a very effective method for destroying heavily armored targets like tanks, because their armor on the top is usually the thinnest part. A larger caliber means the missile is likely to be more powerful than its predecessors, a Chinese military expert who asked for anonymity told the Global Times.

The new missile can be mounted on China’s Mengshi series off-road assault vehicle or infantry fighting vehicles, CCTV reported.

This means the missile is very mobile and can be operated in complicated terrain, the expert said.

China operates a wide selection of anti-tank missiles, including portable ones and those launched by attack helicopters, drones, armored vehicles and assault vehicles, military observers said, noting that the new missile could be mass produced and be widely used by the PLA in the near future.