Light all-terrain vehicles have a long history of use in modern warfare, as early as the early 2000s, during the war on terror, US special forces used all-terrain vehicles to hunt al-Qaeda members in the mountains of Afghanistan.
【ATV】
After the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the Russian army also began to put all-terrain vehicles into the battlefield, mostly for emergency evacuation of the wounded and supply transportation, which won a good reputation among Russian officers and soldiers.
NATO's new discovery
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has recently accused China of supporting Russia's military operations in Ukraine, and China certainly does not send weapons and equipment to Russia, but a large number of all-terrain vehicles used by the Russian army are indeed produced in China.
【Shandong Cat All-Terrain Vehicle】
After the outbreak of the war, Russia imported a considerable number of desert traverser 1000-3 all-terrain vehicles designed and produced by the mainland Shandong.
This kind of domestic all-terrain vehicle is very similar to the high-mobility all-terrain vehicle of the Lynx in service in service of the People's Liberation Army, so it is also named Shandong Cat by netizens, and the Russian army attaches great importance to this equipment.
Even as early as the end of 2003, Putin personally inspected the Shandong Cat, which had just been delivered, and spoke highly of this Chinese vehicle.
[Putin inspects Shandong cat]
Because of the huge role played by the Shandong cat on the battlefield, NATO began to play a demon, accusing China of supporting Russia's military operations.
But you must know that an all-terrain vehicle like the Shandong Cat does not belong to military equipment, and Russia can only say that it is a user behavior when it is put into the battlefield, and it must have nothing to do with China. China's export of Shandong cats to Russia is also not a violation of China's commitment not to supply weapons to Russia, but normal commercial and trade exchanges between the two countries.
What makes NATO even more mad is that the number of Shandong cats imported by Russia from China continues to rise, judging from the video flowing out of the front line of the battlefield, this all-terrain vehicle has been popularized to the grassroots level of the Russian army and has played a huge role in the war.
【Russian all-terrain vehicle】
It stands to reason that the Shandong cat does not have any armor protection, and is not even able to defend against enemy small arms fire, why does the Russian army love this all-terrain vehicle so much? In fact, this is also the result of the change in the form of modern warfare.
The Russian-Ukrainian battlefield is filled with a large number of cruise missiles and suicide drones, and Russia and Ukraine have also deployed a large number of anti-tank/anti-infantry mines on the battlefield, which is simply difficult for traditional armored vehicles.
Both Russia and Ukraine have lost a large number of armored units on the battlefield, and the M1A2 Abrams and Leopard 2 main battle tanks, which have been blown into the sky by Western countries, are no different from live targets in the face of suicide FPV.
【Russian Tank】
The Russian army's own T-90 and T-80 tanks also have a headache for the ubiquitous suicide drones. According to the statistics of public data on the Internet, the average monthly loss of armored units of the Russian army has reached 600 vehicles.
Many armored vehicles were either directly killed by suicide drones, or were mended by drones after losing their ability to maneuver after striking a mine, which made some unwritten rules appear on the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield. For example, vehicles on both sides of Russia and Ukraine will only move on fixed roads and ruts.
In this environment, the Shandong Cat showed its unique advantage, the vehicle was light enough that it would not detonate even if it ran over an anti-tank mine.
【Russian Army Shandong Cat】
Moreover, the off-road performance of the Shandong cat is strong, and it can also race on non-paved roads, so that the Shandong cat has better survivability in the face of drones in the sky.
Previously, the Russian army had released a video of 2 Russian soldiers driving Shandong Cats to retreat quickly, and there were suicide drones of the Ukrainian army trying to attack them behind them, but because the Shandong Cat was too fast, it was difficult for the drone to hit the target.
In the final analysis, whether it is a Shandong cat or a main battle tank, once hit by a drone is the result of the equality of all beings, it doesn't matter whether there is that bit of armor protection, Shandong cat also has an absolute advantage in mobility and cost.
【Russian Army Shandong Cat】
The cost of 1 T-72 main battle tank is enough to buy 150 Shandong Cats, which makes this all-terrain vehicle popular on the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield. Russia has a unique insight into the economics of war, and it is natural that it will make the right choice.
All-terrain vehicles have become standard in modern warfare
Around the Shandong Cat such a high-mobility all-terrain vehicle, the Russian army has even developed a set of fixed tactical models, and the Russian army has carried out similar transformations to the Shandong Cat of front-line activities, such as installing high-power electronic jamming equipment and UAV detection equipment to provide early warning of UAV attacks for crew members.
【Suicide Drone】
Secondly, the Shandong cat car group generally adopts a two-person formation, one soldier is responsible for driving the vehicle, and the other soldier is responsible for shooting drones with automatic shotguns.
These advanced experiences of the Russian army are very worthy of the attention and learning of the PLA, the Shandong cat has a small target and good survivability, and the supply tasks of the Russian army on the front line of the theater are basically handed over to this all-terrain vehicle.
A Shandong cat can transport supplies weighing up to 550 kilograms in a single trip, which is enough to ensure the needs of an infantry squad for more than half a month.
In fact, the People's Liberation Army has also been exploring the application mode of all-terrain vehicles in grassroots teams, because the People's Liberation Army has a stronger information-based combat system, our army is more radical in the transformation of high-altitude vehicles.
【PLA Lynx all-terrain vehicle】
The unmanned Shandong cat has appeared in some units to participate in the test, the unmanned design completely solves the problem of lack of protection of all-terrain vehicles, and the PLA can be more confident and bold to use this high-mobility platform to complete the tasks of supply transportation/casualty transfer.
What's more, anti-tank missiles and grenade launchers are integrated on the unmanned version of the Bobcat, transforming it into an unmanned combat platform that can accompany the team or fight independently.
The Russian army can play the Shandong cat under effective conditions, and the PLA has stronger scientific and technological support, which will inevitably achieve more significant results.
[PLA all-terrain vehicle modification]
Sources:
[1] All-terrain vehicles are typical of small force without loss. Popular Science China.2024-01-19
[2] Lynx ATVs are coming! A number of high-tech "weapon families" made a wonderful appearance at the Zhuhai Air Show. Baijiahao.People's Daily Online.2021-09-30 【Citation date:2021-10-19】