new 60 ton tank for the PLA

King_Comm

King_Comm

Junior Member
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Mightypeon said:
First, china is bordering Korea, Russia and Japan, as well as, by proxy (Korea, Afghanistan) the USA.
Not too mention India and Vietnam, which both posses significant military capacities.
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Note that none of the countries bordering China is actually capable of gaining air superiority over China, which means the latter can use it's air, artillery and tactical missile assets to break up enemy armoured formations at a safe distance.

And that majority of the Soviet era tanks in the services of Russia, North Korea, India, and Vietnam do not have passive night vision (either active infrared or no night vision at all), while all Chinese tanks do (light intensification in older tanks, thermal imagers in newer ones).
 
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Maggern

Maggern

Junior Member
Thought the leopard 2 fully loaded was 55 tons or thereabouts...in any case, anything above 50 is really really really heavy
 
K

kroko

Senior Member
Maggern said:
Thought the leopard 2 fully loaded was 55 tons or thereabouts...in any case, anything above 50 is really really really heavy
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Hmmm...how about the maus tank? it had 192 tonnes. It would be really really really ultraheavy:D I dont think the world will see ever again a tank of that size.
 
duskylim

duskylim

Junior Member
VIP Professional
The era of the World War II-style heavy tank is over. Modern armor-defeating weapons have made the classic heavy tank vulnerable and obsolete. Future wars will see less and less of the great tank-on-tank engagements like the Battle of Kursk and the Arab-Israeli wars.

That being said, I still believe that armor has a significant role to play in modern warfare, but merely as a single component of the combined-arms or all-arms concept.

What the Germans called "blitzkrieg" has become even faster and more frenetic, dominated by long-range missile, air, rocket and artillery strikes far deadlier and much more accurate than those of even the past 2 decades.

I believe China will continue to develop her main battle tanks, but we will see less and less fielded in the fighting units. Various other types of armored vehicles will far outnumber them, in the new combined-arms organization.

The PLA army itself has been downgraded in funding and priority as the Chinese leadership believes an attack over land is the least likely threat in the future.

Heavy tank prototypes will be built and tested, small production runs may even take place, but the mainstay of the Army's armored units will be something along the lines of the Type 96 and its successors.
 
Roger604

Roger604

Senior Member
The PLA army itself has been downgraded in funding and priority as the Chinese leadership believes an attack over land is the least likely threat in the future.
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I believe that would be incorrect. The reform of the PLA is on a holistic level an increase in navy and air force personnel and decrease in ground force personnel but the ground force cuts are intended to INCREASE its combat ability by cutting non-combat personnel (modern way is civilian support staff).

The army, somewhat surprisingly, has proven it's still the most important force for China's security. There is no longer any threat of attack, rather the army has to be able to project power into the capital city of any potentially hostile nation.

A ground war is conceivable in the Korean peninsula. Capturing Seoul would be an objective. A ground war is conceivable in Indochina. Capturing Hanoi would be an objective. A ground war is conceivable in the Himalayas. Capturing Kashmir would be an objective.

The ground forces are also the backbone to an amphibious attack with amphibious tanks and landing crafts. This could occur in a Taiwan scenario, islands in the South China Sea and East China Sea scenario or Northeast Asia scenario.

In short, the power project ability of the PLA ground forces is no less important than air and navy defenses.


This is an interesting source on the future of Chinese tanks. It looks like it ultimately came from Chinese language sources.

Type 99A1: The Type 99A1 is the latest version in service of the PLA while the the more advanced variant the Type 99A2 is still in various trials and is not expected to enter service before the end of 2009. While the earlier Type 99 that entered service several years ago had additional armor packages on the original Type 98 turret and the chassis, the Type 99A1 has its turret top reshaped, having the hump on the turret's top removed by thickening it. This might be the result for changing the height of the turret itself to improve more protection or more space for the tank commander and gunner. Other distinct details are the armor packages on the front and at its sides, the ERA panels have been extended. The Type 99A1 might also have received further upgrades in terms of targeting computers etc.

Type 99A2: The much-improved Type 99 variant, with many major upgrades and improvements. Improvements are so significant that the A2 can almost be considered as a new tank. Some of the improvement and upgrades include a reaction improved aiming system, a digital battlefield information terminal, a newly designed arrow-shaped armor, a larger turret, an expanded tail chamber, an Active Protection System mounted on the turret with millimeter-wave radar, a new commander's periscope and an Integrated Propulsion System

Type 99KM: Newest and much-improved Type 99 variant, with upgraded modular active protection system, upgraded JD-4 active laser defense system, and is armed with a 155 mm gun capable of launching missiles and next-generation kinetic rounds. Reports have it that the Type 99KM is at least 10 years ahead of other MBTs.
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J

jackbh

Junior Member
Here is the source where I see the possible 75 ton tank the 99KM.

According to the Russian "Tank Report" reported that when the Russian side is still looking forward to the time that T-95 tank comes out, the Chinese designers have quietly completed testing the latest main battle tank 99KM. What’s different from the previously developed Chinese tanks is that 99KM tank is equipped with a modular, active protection system that can more effectively resist attacks from the serial high-explosive anti-tank weapons. It is at least 10 years advance than others in the world. China's tank factory will manufacture first batch of more than 200 tanks of 99KM. The report also said, 99KM-type tank is also equipped with an improved type of JD-4-active laser defense system. At present, among the modern tanks which have been in service worldwide, there is no one tank equipped with any kind of similar defense system. This unique feature will undoubtedly enable 99KM tanks become an extremely dangerous opponent on the battlefield. The power of a 99KM is equivalent to 2 ~ 3 T-90 or M1A1 tank.

99KM tank full weight: 75 tons Power;

2100 hp engine speed: 80 km / h;

Max stroke: 869 km;

Main arms: 155 mm main gun (capable of launching precision-guided missile, also capable of launching a new generation of armor-piercing kinetic energy of shells)
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solarz

solarz

Brigadier
Roger604 said:
A ground war is conceivable in the Korean peninsula. Capturing Seoul would be an objective. A ground war is conceivable in Indochina. Capturing Hanoi would be an objective. A ground war is conceivable in the Himalayas. Capturing Kashmir would be an objective.
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Capture Seoul? Hanoi? Kashmir? What?

The only possibility of a war on the Korean peninsula is if the North launches an attack, something that China absolutely will not condone. Without China's cooperation, the North will never have enough supplies to launch such an attack. Even if the North is unstable enough to do such, China will interfere in the event of a North defeat, but I seriously doubt either China or USA will want to make the mistake of crossing the 38th parallel again.

It's crazy to think that Vietnam will pose a threat to China in the foreseeable future. For one thing, Vietnam no longer has the USSR's backing. For another, the military gap between Vietnam and China is about 10 times what it was 30 years ago. Vietnam provoking China these days is utter suicide. China wouldn't even need to send troops: crippling airstrikes against major vietnamese industrial centers will destroy the fighting will of the vietnamese.

Why does the PLA need power projection into neigboring nation's capitals? China invading any country, without a watertight reason, will invite the intervention of NATO, and destroy any of the good will that China has been working so hard to build for decades!
 
solarz

solarz

Brigadier
RedMercury said:
The other things you said may be true, but this particular snippet just flies in the face of all history.
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You forget, we're talking about a Vietnamese provocation against China, not a Chinese invasion and occupation of Vietnam.

There is a huge difference in fighting against invaders versus invading someone else yourself.
 
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