New Dongfeng armored vehicles enter service with PLA border troops.

China's new-generation off-road armored vehicles manufactured by Dongfeng have been commissioned into the People's Liberation Army (PLA) border defense troops in large numbers. A battalion attached to the PLA Tibet Military Command recently received a batch of « assault » vehicles, said the command's Sina Weibo account on Tuesday. Liu Xuanzun reports on Global Times.
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A battalion attached to the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Tibet Military Command receives new-generation armored vehicles (Picture source: Sina Weibo account of the PLA Tibet Military Command)

Judging from the photos released by the command, the vehicles are the third-generation Dongfeng Mengshi off-road tactical armored vehicles. At least 12 vehicles were seen in one photo. Identification problem : the CSK-131 Mengshi is a 4x4 vehicle ; its front part is different from the 6x6 variant’s one, which corresponds to the picture illustrating this news. So, is a mix of 4x4 and 6x6 vehicles delivered? Is there a confusion in the vehicles identification?

In a report by China Central Television (CCTV) on Sunday, November 1, a third-generation Dongfeng Mengshi vehicle was seen operating by the PLA border defense troops stationed in the northern slope of the Himalayas, where the oxygen level is less than 40 percent of that in the inland.

Compared with previous two generations, the third-generation Dongfeng Mengshi is larger, more heavily armored and equipped with a more powerful engine that gives it higher mobility even when operation in plateau regions, Shanghai-based news website eastday.com reported on Monday.

In a video released on October 12, the command announced that a batch of the assault vehicles had entered service with border defense troops based in Xigaze, and in May, the vehicle was briefly seen in a CCTV report on a mortar troops unit of the command.

The third-generation Dongfeng Mengshi assault vehicle has begun to enter service with the PLA in large numbers after it passed tests and examinations in 2019, a Chinese military expert told the Global Times on Tuesday. The vehicles have become particularly in handy in border defense. A third-generation Dongfeng Mengshi can run on rough roads and arrive in a destination with only 10 minutes that would take an hour on foot, saving stamina and time for the troops, reports quoted the troops stationed in the northern slope of the Himalayas as saying. It can also be equipped with weapons like heavy machine guns and rockets launchers, giving the troops strong firepower together with high mobility, the expert said.

Dongfeng 6x6 tactical vehicle displayed at Zhuhai Airshow 2018. The front end corresponds to the one visible on the here above picture (Picture source: Army Recognition)

Dongfeng 4x4 tactical vehicle displayed at Zhuhai Airshow 2018. The front end of this variat is different from the 6x6 one (Picture source: Army Recognition)