Chinese 96-A

OK, so what is our consensus here? Is 96B going into mass production? Or is it the case that, given all the new gizmos on it (TI sights etc), it's not much cheaper than a 99A so PLA might as well just build more of the latter? Or something else?
Weight is another important consideration when it comes to Type 96 vs Type 99. The terrain in Southern China does not favor heavier tanks.
 

siegecrossbow

General
Staff member
Super Moderator
OK, so what is our consensus here? Is 96B going into mass production? Or is it the case that, given all the new gizmos on it (TI sights etc), it's not much cheaper than a 99A so PLA might as well just build more of the latter? Or something else?

I think that’s the plan since 96B is very different from 96A and retrofitting may not be possible. However, whether the army branch has enough budget to actually go ahead with this is… unknown.
 

Hendrik_2000

Lieutenant General
Translated the most important part of the discussion google I guess the difference Z96A and Z96B is in power output and situation awareness plus protection

Compared with the ZTZ-96, the optimized ZTZ-96A already has the essentials of a "new type of main battle tank" to a large extent, especially the anti-stabilization type fire control system it uses, which was just installed at that time. The 9910 verification car and the high-end products that are not available in the ZTZ-99 "first-phase reform". Therefore, although ZTZ-96A is positioned as an "economically applicable vehicle" that supplements the insufficient number and reliability of ZTZ-99, its performance is not "economical" at all. "Applicable", compared with ZTZ-99, it also has its own unique skills in performance.

Of course, for the ZTZ-96 and ZTZ-96A main battle tanks, its performance still has certain defects, such as this "second-generation main battle tank with obvious characteristics" TCPN-2 gunner day and night observation mirror , It only has a low-light observation function, and the observation distance at night does not exceed 1000 meters. It has been retained on the ZTZ-96 series of main battle tanks;

Another example is this set of 12V150Z series diesel engines. Even after the full potential of the ZTZ-96A1 is tapped, the 12V150ZDL has been tapped to a level of 661Kw, which is approximately 900 horsepower, but it still allows the ZTZ-96 series main battle tank to gain Power and the commander’s situational awareness have always been at the level of a second-generation main battle tank.

Therefore, after sorting out the development context of "a basic type, an improved type, and a small modification" of the ZTZ-96 series of main battle tanks in the early days and the system performance of each model, what did the ZTZ-96B main battle tank do? It is not difficult to understand what improvements and key points have been improved:

One is the power system, and the other is the situational awareness system. In terms of power and transmission system, the ZTZ-96B, which ran laps in the Arabino early on, had already used the new domestically produced 8V150 series diesel engine with an automatic hydraulic gearbox, which was obviously the ZTZ-99A series of main battle tanks. Compared with ZTZ-96A/A1, the power of ZTZ-96B has been rapidly increased from 900 horsepower to 1100 horsepower, which is more powerful, and the unit power has finally reached the level of a typical third-generation main battle tank;

In terms of situational awareness and fire control systems, although the ZTZ-96B main battle tank running laps at the Arabino shooting range has a limited improvement compared to the ZTZ-96A, it still uses the ZTZ-96A set o
f anti-image stabilization fire control system. Coupled with the design of the TCPN-2 commander's day and night observation mirror, but in the published test photos of the ZTZ-96B main battle tank, it can be seen that it is covered by canvas above the commander's hatch of the turret, which looks like The covered part is much larger than the TCPN-2 observation mirror.

I have guessed before that the ZTZ-96B may need to be replaced with a commander's sighting system with independent thermal imaging channels similar to the ZTZ-99A main battle tank. Now this guess may become a real hammer.


59b4-kiksqxf6487890.png

In addition, ZTZ-96B seems to have been optimized in some details. First, the bullet-proof shape of the turret has been "minorally modified", and it is equipped with a new type of heavy explosive reaction, which may be used in the turret and car body. There is a certain improvement in the ability to penetrate and break; second, it can be found in some test pictures that the ZTZ-96B seems to be equipped with a remote control weapon station similar to the ZTQ-15 "new light tank", but I don’t know this type of remote control weapon. Will the station be equipped as standard equipment.

I think that ZTZ-96B may adopt a similar approach to the ZTQ-15 light tank after the troops are deployed. It can be equipped with a more “high-end” independent system in terms of the commander’s sight and sight system. The thermal imaging channel captain observation mirror can also be equipped with a low-profile version of the TCPN-2 gun length low-light observation mirror. Of course, the equipment of the remote control weapon station is the same. A few, "low-end cars" will not be equipped for you.

Does "finalized" mean batch installation?


Since the performance of the ZTZ-96B tank has been significantly improved compared to the ZTZ-96A, can the tank be formally equipped with troops after the completion of the "supplementary finalization" test. I believe it is the focus of everyone’s attention. After all, according to the process of the Chinese Army’s “formalization test”, “technical finalization” may not necessarily mean entering a safe, and it may not necessarily be put into mass production. Some equipment will be directly transferred to you after “technical finalization”. It is also possible to enter the technical reserve and lose the opportunity to equip troops.

However, for the ZTZ-96B main battle tank, my opinion has been consistent since August 2019, and it has not changed much until now. We have always believed that the ZTZ-96B main battle tank is indeed in line with the needs of our army. The main battle equipment.

Very simple. On the one hand, judging from the current equipment system of the Chinese Army’s main battle equipment, between the ZTZ-99A and ZTQ-15, there is indeed a need for a "medium-weight" main battle tank to undertake the army’s "full range" The task of deterring warfare, after all, the quality of the ZTZ-99A model is too heavy, and the quality of the ZTQ-15 "new light tank" is too light, which leads to insufficient protection performance. "Hua" type equipment is not suitable for carrying out armored offensive and frontal assault missions.

In comparison, the ZTZ-96B main battle tank is "suitable for both north and south" in terms of its servicing quality and passing performance, and its performance is sufficient to effectively counter the third imaginary enemy equipment in frontal armored attacks. On behalf of the main battle tank, the troops equipped with the ZTZ-96B main battle tank will well perform the mission of the Army Strategic Reserve. Therefore, in this sense, the ZTZ-96B main battle tank is indeed the main battle tank needed by the army.

On the other hand, from the perspective of the production and installation speed of the ZTZ-99A main battle tank, because the production of this main battle tank is relatively complex and the technological level is extremely high, even if multiple production lines have been started, even some production lines have been In the state of high-speed batch production, the actual number of equipment each year is not much.

For the Chinese Army’s huge, large number of ZTZ-88 series, ZTZ-59 series, and even the "Whiteboard 96" series, which are seriously behind and need to be replaced, ZTZ-99A and ZTQ-15 are just a drop in the bucket.
 

DeXM

New Member
Registered Member
Translated the most important part of the discussion google I guess the difference Z96A and Z96B is in power output and situation awareness plus protection

Compared with the ZTZ-96, the optimized ZTZ-96A already has the essentials of a "new type of main battle tank" to a large extent, especially the anti-stabilization type fire control system it uses, which was just installed at that time. The 9910 verification car and the high-end products that are not available in the ZTZ-99 "first-phase reform". Therefore, although ZTZ-96A is positioned as an "economically applicable vehicle" that supplements the insufficient number and reliability of ZTZ-99, its performance is not "economical" at all. "Applicable", compared with ZTZ-99, it also has its own unique skills in performance.

Of course, for the ZTZ-96 and ZTZ-96A main battle tanks, its performance still has certain defects, such as this "second-generation main battle tank with obvious characteristics" TCPN-2 gunner day and night observation mirror , It only has a low-light observation function, and the observation distance at night does not exceed 1000 meters. It has been retained on the ZTZ-96 series of main battle tanks;

Another example is this set of 12V150Z series diesel engines. Even after the full potential of the ZTZ-96A1 is tapped, the 12V150ZDL has been tapped to a level of 661Kw, which is approximately 900 horsepower, but it still allows the ZTZ-96 series main battle tank to gain Power and the commander’s situational awareness have always been at the level of a second-generation main battle tank.

Therefore, after sorting out the development context of "a basic type, an improved type, and a small modification" of the ZTZ-96 series of main battle tanks in the early days and the system performance of each model, what did the ZTZ-96B main battle tank do? It is not difficult to understand what improvements and key points have been improved:

One is the power system, and the other is the situational awareness system. In terms of power and transmission system, the ZTZ-96B, which ran laps in the Arabino early on, had already used the new domestically produced 8V150 series diesel engine with an automatic hydraulic gearbox, which was obviously the ZTZ-99A series of main battle tanks. Compared with ZTZ-96A/A1, the power of ZTZ-96B has been rapidly increased from 900 horsepower to 1100 horsepower, which is more powerful, and the unit power has finally reached the level of a typical third-generation main battle tank;

In terms of situational awareness and fire control systems, although the ZTZ-96B main battle tank running laps at the Arabino shooting range has a limited improvement compared to the ZTZ-96A, it still uses the ZTZ-96A set o
f anti-image stabilization fire control system. Coupled with the design of the TCPN-2 commander's day and night observation mirror, but in the published test photos of the ZTZ-96B main battle tank, it can be seen that it is covered by canvas above the commander's hatch of the turret, which looks like The covered part is much larger than the TCPN-2 observation mirror.

I have guessed before that the ZTZ-96B may need to be replaced with a commander's sighting system with independent thermal imaging channels similar to the ZTZ-99A main battle tank. Now this guess may become a real hammer.


59b4-kiksqxf6487890.png

In addition, ZTZ-96B seems to have been optimized in some details. First, the bullet-proof shape of the turret has been "minorally modified", and it is equipped with a new type of heavy explosive reaction, which may be used in the turret and car body. There is a certain improvement in the ability to penetrate and break; second, it can be found in some test pictures that the ZTZ-96B seems to be equipped with a remote control weapon station similar to the ZTQ-15 "new light tank", but I don’t know this type of remote control weapon. Will the station be equipped as standard equipment.

I think that ZTZ-96B may adopt a similar approach to the ZTQ-15 light tank after the troops are deployed. It can be equipped with a more “high-end” independent system in terms of the commander’s sight and sight system. The thermal imaging channel captain observation mirror can also be equipped with a low-profile version of the TCPN-2 gun length low-light observation mirror. Of course, the equipment of the remote control weapon station is the same. A few, "low-end cars" will not be equipped for you.

Does "finalized" mean batch installation?


Since the performance of the ZTZ-96B tank has been significantly improved compared to the ZTZ-96A, can the tank be formally equipped with troops after the completion of the "supplementary finalization" test. I believe it is the focus of everyone’s attention. After all, according to the process of the Chinese Army’s “formalization test”, “technical finalization” may not necessarily mean entering a safe, and it may not necessarily be put into mass production. Some equipment will be directly transferred to you after “technical finalization”. It is also possible to enter the technical reserve and lose the opportunity to equip troops.

However, for the ZTZ-96B main battle tank, my opinion has been consistent since August 2019, and it has not changed much until now. We have always believed that the ZTZ-96B main battle tank is indeed in line with the needs of our army. The main battle equipment.

Very simple. On the one hand, judging from the current equipment system of the Chinese Army’s main battle equipment, between the ZTZ-99A and ZTQ-15, there is indeed a need for a "medium-weight" main battle tank to undertake the army’s "full range" The task of deterring warfare, after all, the quality of the ZTZ-99A model is too heavy, and the quality of the ZTQ-15 "new light tank" is too light, which leads to insufficient protection performance. "Hua" type equipment is not suitable for carrying out armored offensive and frontal assault missions.

In comparison, the ZTZ-96B main battle tank is "suitable for both north and south" in terms of its servicing quality and passing performance, and its performance is sufficient to effectively counter the third imaginary enemy equipment in frontal armored attacks. On behalf of the main battle tank, the troops equipped with the ZTZ-96B main battle tank will well perform the mission of the Army Strategic Reserve. Therefore, in this sense, the ZTZ-96B main battle tank is indeed the main battle tank needed by the army.

On the other hand, from the perspective of the production and installation speed of the ZTZ-99A main battle tank, because the production of this main battle tank is relatively complex and the technological level is extremely high, even if multiple production lines have been started, even some production lines have been In the state of high-speed batch production, the actual number of equipment each year is not much.

For the Chinese Army’s huge, large number of ZTZ-88 series, ZTZ-59 series, and even the "Whiteboard 96" series, which are seriously behind and need to be replaced, ZTZ-99A and ZTQ-15 are just a drop in the bucket.
Does it mean 96B is getting 2 reverse speed transmission CH1000B?
 

TK3600

Captain
Registered Member
ZTZ-59 series is pretty much out. There are some ZTZ-88 series running but those are produced in relatively low numbers of 300~. Then there is some base ZTZ-96 tanks, rest are still decently up to date. With ZTZ-99 series around 1000~ produced a all new ZTZ-96 series is hardly needed. As we speak ZTZ-99A and ZTQ-15 are produced at decent rate, with unknown new advanced MBT already in development.
 

siegecrossbow

General
Staff member
Super Moderator
Looks like the show is back on the table for this year’s tank biathlon.

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Yikes. Looks like the rumors were correct. During last year’s tank biathlon one of the Russian generals asked the Chinese to slow down the Type-96B… Apparently the game was rigged from the start every year and Russia can be the only winner. The kids at the awards ceremony only knows how to sing the Russian anthem and haven’t practiced any of the other ones.

This isn’t to say that tank biathlon is useless though. China made several tank design improvements based upon problems exposed during the tank biathlon, one of which is a problem with smoke expelling device for the main gun that caused the gunner to faint last year.

Vietnamese military fans (hard core anti-China ones) might be disappointed to learn that their tank champion trained extensively at the tank school in Shijiazhuang… :)
 
Last edited:

Orthan

Senior Member
China made several tank design improvements based upon problems exposed during the tank biathlon, one of which is a problem with smoke expelling device for the main gun that caused the gunner to faint last year.
Why does china needs the tank biathlon to discover these kind of problems? and the T-96B has been going to these biathlons for 5 years now.

Vietnamese military fans (hard core anti-China ones) might be disappointed to learn that their tank champion trained extensively at the tank school in Shijiazhuang… :)
Doesnt vietnam have its own military schools? i find it hard to believe that the vietnamese military would go to chinese schools. I think that they would prefer russian ones.
 

siegecrossbow

General
Staff member
Super Moderator
Why does china needs the tank biathlon to discover these kind of problems? and the T-96B has been going to these biathlons for 5 years now.


Doesnt vietnam have its own military schools? i find it hard to believe that the vietnamese military would go to chinese schools. I think that they would prefer russian ones.

According to the interview around 42 defects have been discovered over the course of five tournaments. To answer your question, the track conditions at Tank Biathlon is a lot more strenuous than regular tank training conditions. For instance I don’t think that tanks during normal training s would fly off 45 degree ramps or stay semi-submerged for 20 yards. With hardware some problems are difficult to manifest and not easily reproducible. Each Tank Biathlon match only lasts around an hour and there around four of them till the finals. Distribute that among three tanks you get a hand of hours per vehicle.

I too was surprised that Vietnam still sends soldiers to the Chinese military schools but I guess relations have eased somewhat post Sino-Vietnamese border conflicts despite the two countries being at logger heads over SCS Islands. As for why Vietnam needs to send soldiers abroad, I think that it is probably due to resource limitations. Until the T-90 purchase Vietnam didn’t really operate any third generation tanks, and even afterwards the bulk of their gear are Cold War era Soviet designs. I’m pretty sure that Vietnam also sends students to Russia but in the case of this particular tank biathlon commander, he graduated from Shijiazhuang and reportedly has a semi-Chinese fashion sense.
 
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