Chinese army conducts refueling at sea with Type 63A light amphibious tank

According to pictures released by the China Defense Blog on August 22, 2020, the Chinese army has conduct refueling at sea with Type 63A light amphibious tank. The Type 63A is an improved version of Type 63 with new features to improve its amphibious performance at sea. It can be launched from amphibious ships 10 km or more offshore.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link

Chinese army conducts refueling at sea with Type 63A light amphibious tank. (Picture source CCTV)

The Type 63A amphibious light tank is a radically improved variant of Type 63. The Type 63A entered service with the Chinese Army in 1997. Over 300 of these light tanks were built for the Chinese Army. Some sources report that this light tank has been exported to Venezuela. Currently, very few countries develop amphibious tanks and China is one of them.

The Type 63A is a lightly armored amphibious light tank with a fat, boat-like hull. The Suspension consists on each side of 6 road wheels. A redesigned welded turret from the original Type 63 is mounted center of the hull, with the powerpack located at the rear. The Type 63A has 2 additional floating tanks to increase the stability of the vehicle in the water. There are 3 water inlets on both sides of the hull. Two water jets are mounted at the rear of the hull. 

Type 63A introduces an enlarged welded turret replacing the original Type 63 turret, the modernized Type 63A utilizes a dual-way stabilized 105 mm rifled gun replacing the 85 mm gun. The 105 mm rifled gun is able to fire Armour Piercing Stabilized Discarding Sabot (APFSDS), High Explosive (HE), and High-Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) ammunition. It carries 45 rounds carried inside the vehicle. APFSDS round penetrates 400 mm steel armor or destroys a reinforced concrete bunker a distance of 2,000 m.

The Type 63A enhance capability allows the vehicle to conduct amphibious operations from its host amphibious warfare ships at distances from 5–7 km to shore at a speed of 28 km/h.

Chinese army Type 63A light amphibious tank (Picture source Army Recognition)