The DZJ-08 () is a portable, disposable, unguided, shoulder-launched, multipurpose recoilless weapon. The weapon is designed as a multi-role assault weapon aiming to provide anti-armor, anti-fortification, and anti-personnel capability. Designed and manufactured by

Norinco China North Industries Group Corporation Limited, doing business internationally as Norinco Group (North Industries Corporation), and known within China as China Ordnance Industries Group Corporation Limited (), is a Chinese state-owned defense ...

for the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...

, the Type 08 is the successor to the Type 89A multipurpose rocket launcher.

Description

Type 08 has a unique firing mechanism called sealed balance projection () possibly inspired by C.Davis recoilless principle. Compared to the previous system, the Type 08 utilizes countermass to reduce the recoil, noise, muzzle flash, pressure wave and

back blast The backblast area is a cone-shaped area behind a rocket launcher, rocket-assisted takeoff unit or recoilless rifle, where hot gases are expelled when the rocket or rifle is discharged. The backblast area is dangerous to ground personnel, who may ...

that can cause burns and overpressure as well as create conspicuous launch signature of the user. Moreover, Type 08's multipurpose ammunition has a relatively small blast radius of 7 meters, which gives the weapon system a minimum range of 25 meters. Thus, a soldier can fire the weapon more safely inside confined spaces. The high-explosive ammunition of the DZJ-08 is specially designed to penetrate structures. The warhead contains

magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ta ...

and

thermite Thermite () is a pyrotechnic composition of metal powder and metal oxide. When ignited by heat or chemical reaction, thermite undergoes an exothermic reduction-oxidation (redox) reaction. Most varieties are not explosive, but can create brief ...

. It can penetrates 25 mm of steel armor at 65° angle, or around 30 mm of steel armor at 0° angle. Although it is not effective against heavy vehicles, the DJZ-08 can still penetrate and destroy lightly armored vehicles like armored personnel carriers. The biggest improvement of DZJ-08 is the ability to penetrate 500 mm of reinforced concrete, whereas the predecessor PF-89A with its multipurpose round can only penetrate 300mm of reinforced concrete. The Type 08 is China's first attempt to develop an anti-tank weapon that can be used in confined spaces and

urban warfare Urban warfare is combat conducted in urban areas such as towns and cities. Urban combat differs from combat in the open at both the operational and the tactical levels. Complicating factors in urban warfare include the presence of civilians and t ...

. China used the Type 89 rocket launcher to replace the

Type 69 RPG The Type 69 85mm RPG (Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт, 'Hand Anti Tank Grenade Launcher'), made by Norinco, is a Chinese variant of the Soviet RPG-7. First introduced in 1972, the Type 69 is a common individual ...

in the 90s, however the problem of back blast became prominent. Since May 2000, Norinco started design of a new generation of weapon that is portable, single-use and can be distributed to each individual soldier of an infantry squad like the Type 89 yet offer low collateral damage. The DZJ-08 weighs 7.6kg, is water-proof, and features a fordable day sight. The weapon also has a folding front grip and carrying handle. Firing instructions are printed on the left side of the launch tube.

Variants

The DZJ-08 has serval variants with each variant corresponding to a specific type of ammunition. ;DZJ-08 Multipurpose Assault Munition (): Original variant with multipurpose bunker buster warhead. ;DZA-11 Anti-personal Penetrator (): Penetrator warhead with secondary high-explosive fragmentation fillings. ;DZP-11 High-Explosive Anti-Tank (): Tandem armor-piercing high-explosive anti-tank warhead.

Users

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References

{{Modern Chinese Infantry Weapons Weapons of the People's Republic of China Anti-tank rockets Military equipment introduced in the 2000s

Description

Variants

Users

See also

References