New Type98/99 MBT thread

Gloire_bb

Captain
Registered Member
IMHO, side armor against sabots is a fundamentally flawed concept. If your tanks are taking sabot hits in their flanks from a near-peer enemy, tactically, you've already lost that battle. Side-armor isn't going to save you. At that point, your best option is an orderly tactical retreat (assuming your units don't panic and completely loose their shit), while praying that you don't march straight into a kill-box, because you clearly have no idea where the enemy is.
There are angles of free maneuvering. At just 15 degrees off-axis, vulnerable side profile already exceeds all vulnerable zones on front armor combined. At 30 degrees, it's equal to your front armor. You can't always hope to point directly at the enemy.
 

Mohsin77

Senior Member
Registered Member
Which is why I said Murphy's Law still applies. You obviously need some level of protection on the sides, it is a tank after all. The point is not to over-emphasize it over mobility and firepower.
 

KampfAlwin

Junior Member
Registered Member
china is developing a two man crew tank? what are its specs?
We have a thread for that:
 

Orthan

Senior Member
Making a search, i came across this article from business insider. I dont know if it has been posted here or not. Its from january 2019. Does anyone knows if in the last two years the chinese army has corrected its tank doctrine and training flaws?

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
 

siegecrossbow

General
Staff member
Super Moderator
Making a search, i came across this article from business insider. I dont know if it has been posted here or not. Its from january 2019. Does anyone knows if in the last two years the chinese army has corrected its tank doctrine and training flaws?

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Doesn’t this happen with any unit that gets equipped with new gear? The article title makes it sound like no one in the PLA knows how to operate Type-99A, which has been in service with the PLA since 2010.
 

Orthan

Senior Member
Doesn’t this happen with any unit that gets equipped with new gear? The article title makes it sound like no one in the PLA knows how to operate Type-99A, which has been in service with the PLA since 2010.
Does the chinese army train with the newest weapons? I remember years ago that they only train with older equipment. If not, that could explain why they dont know how to use T-99A2.
 

siegecrossbow

General
Staff member
Super Moderator
Does the chinese army train with the newest weapons? I remember years ago that they only train with older equipment. If not, that could explain why they dont know how to use T-99A2.

I’m not sure if this is a troll question so I’ll answer earnestly.

Units that receive new equipment will train with new equipment. Troops operate Type-99A/A2 don’t train on Type-59s just to save a buck, because the controls/capabilities are largely incompatible. The article in question talks about a unit that has changed to using Type-99A from an older tank variant. Old habits die hard so they did not use the capabilities of the new vehicle properly.

Also keep in mind that if a mouthpiece like the Global Times has reported a problem on English language media, rest be assured that said problem has already been resolved. State media isn’t in the habit of exposing shortcomings to international audience.

Hopefully that answered your question.
 

LawLeadsToPeace

Senior Member
Staff member
Moderator - World Affairs
Registered Member
Does the chinese army train with the newest weapons? I remember years ago that they only train with older equipment. If not, that could explain why they dont know how to use T-99A2.
It does based on the videos that are published by state media. At this point, the Chinese military are focusing more on fielding higher quality gear as shown among the infantry, who didn’t get any new equipment for more than a decade.
 
Top