The Nigerian Army may have acquired 100 additional CS/VP3 armored personnel carriers (APCs) from China’s Poly Technologies and Type 89 tracked infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) from Norinco.
Photos have emerged online of dozens of CS/VP3 vehicles lined up at a factory in China prior to delivery – these are painted green and feature the letters ‘NA’ on their grilles, matching the appearance of CS/VP3s previously delivered to the Nigerian Army.
Unconfirmed reports state the 100 vehicles arrived in Nigeria in early September.
The Nigerian Army has been operating Poly Technologies’ CS/VP3 since at least 2014, making it the vehicle’s second known export customer after Uganda. Nigeria apparently acquired an initial 120 of the vehicles.
The CS/VP3 has a road speed of around 100 km and a range of some 800 km. It can be fitted with two turrets, on the front and rear above the crew compartment, and fitted with 7.62 or 12.7 mm machine gunes. The vehicle has a V-shaped hull and all welded steel armor for protection against landmines and small arms. The vehicle can apparently resist a 16 kg TNT blast under each wheel or 8 kg TNT all round. A total of 12 personnel, including the driver and commander, can be accommodated.