VT-4 Main Battle Tank

VT-4/MBT3000

VT-4 during combat trials
Type Main battle tank
Place of origin China
Production history
Designer Norinco
Manufacturer Norinco
Produced 2014- present
Specifications
Weight 52 ton
Length 10.10 m
Width 3.40 m
Height 2.30 m
Crew 3 (commander, driver, gunner)

Armor Classified
Main
armament
125 mm (4.9 in) smoothbore
Secondary
armament
1 x RWS12.7 mm (0.50 in) AA MG
1 × 7.62 mm (0.300 in) coaxial MG
Engine Turbocharged diesel engine
1,300 hp (969 kW)
Power/weight 25 hp/tonne
Suspension torsion bar
Operational
range
500 km (310 mi)
Speed 68 km/h (42 mph)

The VT4 main battle tank (Chinese: VT-4主战坦克 ), also known as the MBT3000, is a Chinese third generation main battle tank built by Norinco for overseas export. It is an upgraded variant of the MBT2000 (VT-1) and the latest tank model from the Type 90-II tank family.[1]

Development

The MBT-3000 (industrial designation) project began development in 2009, under the cooperation of First Inner Mongolia Machinery Factory and other companies.[1] It was based on the Type 90-II and outfitted with a locally produced power plant. The MBT-3000 concept debuted at the 2012 Eurosatory.[2] The tank was subsequently shown at the 2014 Norinco Armor Day[3] and the tenth China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition as the VT-4. It has yet to enter mass production.

Design

The VT-4 uses technology from the Type 99A currently fielded by the People's Liberation Army.[1]

Armament

The VT-4 has a 125mm smoothbore cannon capable of firing APFSDS, HESH, guided missiles, HEAT and HE. There is also a remote weapon station on the turret armed with a 12.7mm heavy machine gun. The fire control system has hunter-killer capabilities, laser rangefinder, panoramic sight, a third generation thermal imaging system, and more. [1]

Protection

The tank appears to have composite and explosive reactive armor.[2] The turret front has wedge shaped armor and the hull sides have armored sideskirts. The tank is equipped with an active protection system designated GL5, defensive grenade launchers, and a laser warning device. It is unknown if the active protection system is a soft-kill or hard-kill system. [1][4] The vehicle also has an IFF system, NBC protection, explosion suppression system, fire extinguishing system, and air conditioning.[5]

Mobility

According to Norinco, the VT-4 uses a locally produced 1300HP diesel engine with torsion bar suspension and an integrated hydraulic transmission system. [6][7][8][1][9] Steering and acceleration is handled by a steering wheel and automatic gear transmission.[1]

Command and control

The tank is also integrated with digital communications systems for tank-tank communication and communication between commanders. [1]

Potential operators


 Peru

See also

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, April 10, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.