China's Norinco conducts VU-T10 UGV trials

Norinco's VU-T10 UGV is displayed at the Zhuhai Air Show in 2024. (Janes/Sam Wise)

China North Industries Corporation (Norinco) has conducted trials of its VU-T10 extra-large armoured tracked unmanned ground vehicle (UGV).

Footage posted by Norinco on its official social media channel on 20 July showcased several ground-based and aerial combat systems including the VU-T10 UGV. In the footage, the UGV was seen firing 30 mm rounds from its primary cannon. Norinco did not elaborate on the results of the trial.

The VU-T10 consists of a tracked platform and a remote control station on a command-and-control vehicle. Janes estimates that the UGV has a length of 3.8 m, a width of 2.4 m, a height of 2 m, and weighs approximately 12,000 kg. It is equipped with a 30 mm cannon, a 7.62 mm co-axial machine gun, and an anti-tank guided missile launcher.

Other systems displayed in the Norinco footage included the company's Machine Wolf quadrupedal UGV, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), laser counter-unmanned aerial systems (C-UASs), air-defence missiles, and artillery rounds. It also included howitzers and multiple rocket launchers (MRLs), striking targets identified by UAVs.

State-owned Global Times reported that the footage is a demonstration of China's “complete system in unmanned warfare equipment”, with a focus on manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) operations. MUM-T enables conventional defence equipment to strike targets at longer distances with enhanced accuracy, Global Times added.

“Following the shifting focus of military technologies to informatisation, intelligentisation, unmanned equipment and systematic development, as well as the changes in the form of modern warfare, Norinco Group [has] devoted more resources into the field of ground-domain drones, aerial drones [UAVs] and anti-drone [C-UAV] technologies with new concepts and new methods of intelligent, network-centric distributed combat,” Global Times said, citing a Norinco spokesperson.