Wanshan Special Vehicle Explained
Wanshan Special Vehicle, officially Hubei Sanjiang Space Wanshan Special Vehicle Co., Ltd (Ch:湖北三江航天万山特种车辆有限公司), is a truck and bus manufacturer in China. Its WS-series military trucks are used by the People’s Liberation Army; it is a major manufacturer of transporter erector launchers (TEL).
Organisation
Wanshan,, is based in Wuhan in Hubei province.[1] The "Wanshan Special Vehicle Factory" was state-owned; it was restructured into Hubei Sanjiang Space Wanshan Special Vehicle Co., Ltd., which is, in turn, part of China Aerospace Sanjiang Space Co. Ltd (中国航天三江集团), which started in 1969 as a military unit producing missiles. Sanjiang Space Group is a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC).[2], Wanshan's assets were around RMB1.1 billion.[3]
Wanshan has benefited from technology transfers from Deutz AG, Caterpillar Inc., Isuzu Motors and ZF Friedrichshafen. Several of its trucks (but not more modern designs such as the WS2180 or the WS2250) have been based on MZKT designs, some of which have been updated with more modern engines and transmission systems.
, the director was Cao Jingwu.[4]
Products
Wanshan makes various vehicles, including trucks, heavy trailers, and buses.[5] These include:
- WS2180, 6x6 truck with coil suspension, which resembles the MTVR[6]
- WS2180A, with a cab-over-engine layout;
- WS2250, 8x8 truck with engine mounted on the frame behind the cab, which resembles the HEMTT[7]
- WS2300, 6x6 offroad truck, developed from the WS2400
- WS2400, 8x8 offroad truck, developed from the WS580, which was based on the MAZ-543 made by MZKT.[8] [9]
- WS2500, 10x10 offroad truck, developed from the WS2400
- WS2600, 10x8 offroad truck;[10]
- WS5252, used as the basis for the Norinco SH1 self-propelled artillery system.[11]
- WS21050
- 14x12 offroad truck;[12]
- WS51200, a very large 8 axle offroad truck with Chongqing Cummins KTTA19 engine and ZF transmission, similar to the MZKT-79221. Eight were controversially sold to North Korea.[13] The Shaheen-III uses WS51200 transporter erector launcher TEL.[14] [15] The Chinese vehicle design appears based on a Belarusian MAZ missile launcher that was transferred to China in the 1990s and may have been reverse-engineered by the Chinese.
- Bus chassis: WS6600, WS6600AZ, WS6482, WS6483 and WS6320.[16]
Controversy
Wanshan supplied WS51200 trucks to a North Korean company; the trucks appeared, as transporter-erector-launchers, carrying missiles, at a North Korean military parade. It has been claimed that this sale violated non-proliferation agreements;[17] [18] although China is not a member of MTCR, its own arms-control rules are similar. The North Korean government is investing in transporter-erector-launchers which are a more difficult target for adversaries, compared to fixed missile launch sites.[19] UN and Asean investigators have concluded that the TELs were Chinese WS51200 trucks legitimately exported to North Korea for lumber transport, with the sales contract specifically prohibiting use of the vehicles for military purposes. The North Koreans illegally converted them into TELs by installing hydraulic gear and controls to erect a missile. Despite being converted to fire a missile, the truck would not be likely to survive damage from the rocket exhaust like a purpose-built TEL, making it a single-use launcher, but North Korea solved this problem by using a temporary launchpad on a base of missile that makes it possible to separate TEL from the missile during launching & there is no more need for TEL during missile separation.[20] Also the satellite image shows the development center of this self-made modification needs.[21]
See also
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: Wanshan Special Vehicle Co Ltd (China), Industry - Manufacturing. Janes. 29 December 2012.
- Web site: About Us. Hubei Sanjiang Space Wanshan Special Vehicle Co., Ltd.. 29 December 2012.
- Web site: SORL Wins "Excellent Supplier" Awards from OEMs. Bloomberg. 29 December 2012.
- Web site: China's Evolving Conventional Strategic Strike Capability - The Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile Challenge to U.S. Maritime Operations in the Western Pacific and Beyond. Stokes. 29 December 2012.
- Web site: Hubei Sanjiang Space Wanshan Special Vehicle Co., Ltd.. China Commodity Net. 29 December 2012.
- Web site: Wanshan WS2180 (6 x 6) truck (China), Trucks. Janes. 29 December 2012.
- Web site: Wanshan WS2250 (8 x 8) truck (China), Trucks. Janes. 29 December 2012.
- Web site: Wanshan Special Vehicle Factory Wanshan Special Vehicle, Co., Ltd. 29 December 2012.
- Web site: Wanshan WS2400 (8 x 8) heavy-duty off-road vehicle (China), Trucks. https://web.archive.org/web/20120402185308/http://articles.janes.com/articles/Janes-Military-Vehicles-and-Logistics/Wanshan-WS2400-8-x-8-heavy-duty-off-road-vehicle-China.html. 2 April 2012. Janes. 29 December 2012.
- Web site: Wanshan WS2600 (10 x 8) heavy-duty off-road vehicle (China), Trucks. Janes. 29 December 2012.
- Web site: NORINCO SH1 155 mm/52-calibre self-propelled artillery system (China), Self-propelled guns and howitzers (wheeled). Janes. 29 December 2012.
- Web site: Wanshan WS21050 (14 x 12) heavy-duty off-road vehicle (China), Trucks. Janes. 29 December 2012.
- Web site: North Korea's Procurement Network Strikes Again: Examining How Chinese Missile Hardware Ended Up in Pyongyang. NTI. July 31, 2012 . Melissa Hanham . 29 December 2012.
- Web site: Pakistan's new Shaheen-III MRBM uses Chinese transporter, says source | IHS Jane's 360 . 10 June 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161209190836/http://www.janes.com/article/61862/pakistan-s-new-shaheen-iii-mrbm-uses-chinese-transporter-says-source . 9 December 2016 . dead . dmy-all .
- Web site: Letter to U.S. Government from U.S. Congress . 17 July 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180923212125/https://poe.house.gov/_cache/files/e/f/ef82a74d-c281-4c5c-a48e-8e9cae2b6c49/60D80C4F97F273985001D071A65E1C8E.pakistan-tel.pdf . 23 September 2018 . live .
- Web site: Wanshan Special Vehicle Works (China), MANUFACTURERS AND SERVICES - BUSES - CHASSIS, INTEGRALS AND BODIES. Janes. 29 December 2012.
- News: Exclusive: China firm boasts about missile-linked North Korea sale: envoys. Reuters. 29 December 2012.
- Web site: 16輪の大型TEL車両に搭載された北朝鮮の新型長距離弾道ミサイル. 29 December 2012.
- Web site: More on DPRK TELs. Arms Control Wonk. 29 December 2012.
- http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htmurph/20130719.aspx Tales Of The Forbidden TEL
- Web site: That Ain't My Truck: Where North Korea Assembled Its Chinese Transporter-Erector-Launchers . 2023-11-29 . Lewis. Jeffrey. 3 February 2014 .