December 19, 2024: Russian troops in Ukraine have been seen using Chinese 4x4 Tiger/ZFB-05 vehicles. These have a roof opening for one of the crew to use a machine gun up there. These vehicles were brought in by the Chechen contingent fighting alongside the Russians. The Tiger is a licensed version of an Italian vehicle.

The ZFB weight 4.6 tons with a 1.1 ton cargo capacity. A two man crew is required and the vehicle can carry up to nine passengers. Another half dozen passengers can be added in an emergency. Max road speed is 100 kilometers an hour and max road range is 800 kilometers on internal fuel.

China openly copies a lot of foreign military equipment designs, often in many variations because multiple manufacturers get involved. While the Chinese military thought the American HMMWV/hummer was a useful design, it was not adopted widely.

The basic tactical vehicle in the Chinese military is the BJ2022. The BJ2022 entered service in 2007 after being developed as a joint venture between a Chinese firm and Chrysler. Because of that American connection, the BJ2022 was legally based on the Jeep Cherokee. BJ2022 comes in two versions, with one being a bit longer and serving as something similar to the old American ¾ ton truck. Most of the BJ2022 are basically much updated World War II American jeep designs that borrow much from SUV and four-wheel drive innovations. The basic version can carry a payload of 500 kg and seats four. The longer version carries 750 kg and seats up to eight. These are four-wheel drive vehicles have manual transmissions and are mainly used on roads or flat terrain.

Chinese hummer-like vehicles are popular with Chinese and foreign special operations troops. The Chinese armed forces are not buying a lot of these vehicles, only a few thousand or so a year at most although civilian versions became popular with Chinese and export customers. The most popular of these hummer clones comes from Dongfeng, which initially produced some hummers under license. Dongfeng has since produced a number of hummer variants, including armored models equipped to handle RWS/remote weapons systems. These were nicknamed Mengesha/east wind warrior. The latest of these, the CSK-181 is an eight ton armored hummer design similar to the new American JLTV. One characteristic of the Chinese hummers is the built-in night vision cameras, one in front and one in the back with a flat-screen display for the driver to use. There is also a satellite navigation system.

Although China tried Russian and European designs in their search for a new tactical truck similar to the American hummer, they finally settled on a hummer clone of their own. China still uses the Russian and German designs for most of its tactical vehicles but it is also buying a growing number of locally made hummer clones.

China got their hands on an American hummer in 1988. Initially, Chinese military officials felt the hummer was too expensive. But the performance of the hummer in the 1991 Gulf War with growing use of the American civilian version of the hummer, especially those brought in by oil companies for use in remote areas, changed minds. By 2003, two Chinese companies were producing hummer clones and the Chinese Army adopted one of them as the EQ2050. Within a decade an armored version was developed as the EQ2058 followed by several other variants, including a longer 6x6 vehicle.

Meanwhile, the United States developed a new hummer-like vehicle, the JLTV/Joint Light Tactical Vehicle hummer/MRAP replacement. Export versions sell for up to $400,000 each depending on accessories. Buyers like Britain order vehicles that allow for a lot of substitution of some American components with British equivalents and the use of British accessories. The American designer and manufacturer, Oshkosh, has been promoting the JLTV to military and police organizations worldwide and already has several other NATO allies discussing JLTV acquisition.

Mass production for JLTV began in late 2019 with most of those vehicles going to the U.S. Army, which currently plans to buy 49,000 vehicles to replace armored HMMWV vehicles as well as many MRAP armored trucks. As of early 2019, about 12,000 JLTVs had been produced with the last of the JLTVs being delivered by the end of the 2030s.