A new type of armored recovery vehicle designed based on the chassis of the Type 15 light tank attached to the Chinese People's Liberation Army Xinjiang Military Command tows a Type 15 tank in its first realistic combat drills held in the high-altitude Karakoram Mountains in Spring 2022. Photo: Screenshot from China Central Television

 
With a new type of armored recovery vehicle demonstrating its capabilities in a recent exercise in the Karakoram Mountains, the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Xinjiang Military Command has received a powerful supportive tool that will greatly enhance its armored combat capability in plateau, experts said on Monday.

A combined arms regiment affiliated with the PLA Xinjiang Military Command recently held a series of realistic combat rescue and recovery drills at an undisclosed training ground in the Karakoram Mountains at an elevation of 5,300 meters, during which the regiment for the first time deployed the new-type armored recovery vehicle, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Sunday.

The drills simulated a situation in which a Type 15 light tank was hit by a hostile anti-tank missile in its rear, disabling its engine, and that was when the armored recovery vehicle arrived at the scene and towed the damaged tank to a frontline repair position, CCTV reported.

Compared with its predecessor, the new armored recovery vehicle is equipped with a twin turbocharging device, giving its engine a significant power boost, leading to a much higher efficiency in completing its job, the report said.

The new recovery vehicle has high mobility and is easy to operate, the report said, citing Su Kejiang, a soldier at the regiment.

"It uses the same chassis as our new tank, and this also contributes to the coordinated combat as well as repairing and maintenance," Su said.

The Type 15 light tank excels at plateau combat thanks to its powerful engine and light weight, to an extent that almost no other tank in the world can match its mobility in Southwest China's plateau region because of the lack of oxygen and complex terrain there, a military expert who requested anonymity told the Global Times on Monday.

Because of Type 15's high mobility, previous types of armored recovery vehicles might not be able to follow it, the expert said, adding that it is why a new type of recovery vehicle uses the same chassis as the Type 15, giving it similar capabilities.

Supportive equipment like tank recovery vehicles is not any less important than main battle equipment like tanks, as they can provide sustained combat capabilities, the expert said.

The new armored recovery vehicle is also equipped with a set of smoke launchers to increase its survivability, according to the CCTV report.