bhramos
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Bulk production of the 62-tonne ZTZ-99A2 main battle tanks tank (MBT) commenced early last year in China for the People's Liberation Army (PLA), following three years of user trials.
Developed by the China North Vehicle Research Institute (also known as 201 Institute) of the state-owned China North Industries Corp (NORINCO) since 2005, the ZTZ-99A2 is being built by the Inner-Mongolia First Machinery Group Corp (also known as (617 Factory) in Baotou, Inner Mongolia. The ZTZ-99A2 sports explosive reactive armour (ERA) tiles on the glacis, turret front and turret sides, plus a turret-mounted active protection system (APS). The baseline chassis armour is constructed of steel, to which advanced passive armour has been added over the frontal arc. By adding ERA tiles and APS, the ZTZ-99A2 MBT has been given a very high level of protection against anti-tank weapons fitted with tandem high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warheads.
The ZTZ-99A2 will supplement the PLA Army's existing 800-odd 57-tonne ZTZ-99A1 MBTs, which sport spaced arrow-shaped composite armour tiles on the turret's front side, plus a turret-mounted laser countermeasures suite. The ZTZ-99A2's turret, on the other hand, comes fitted with exteriorly changed arrow-shaped ERA armour panels, while its frontal hull is covered by flat ERA armour tiles. Despite of the size of ERA armour-plating, the ZTZ-99A2 seems to have a larger turret with an expanded tail chamber. The turret-mounted APS uses a millimetre-wave radar as its principal sensor.
The commander's panoramic sight bears a close resemblance to that on French AMX-56 Leclerc MBT. The ZTZ-99A2's integrated propulsion system includes a 1,500hp transverse-mounted gas turbine, automatic transmission, cooling system and the fuel tank. Suspensions are of the torsion bar-type, while both the commander's and gunner's sights make use of COTS-based uncooled thermal imagers.
The main armament is a 55-calibre 125mm smoothbore cannon (firing APFSDS rounds capable of penetrating 950mm of rolled homogenous armour), which is linked to a hull-mounted an auto-loader. The MBT has a three man crew complement. External dimensions of the MBT include a length of 11 metres (34 feet), width of 3.4 metres (10.5 feet) and a height of 2.2 metres (6.8 feet).
TRISHUL: China’s Latest MBT Sports 1,500hp Gas Turbine, APS