The main Chinese battle tank - Type 99 (factory index ZTZ-99) was first shown to the public during a military parade in Beijing on October 1, 1999. The appearance of the 3rd generation tank presented by China caused quite a stir. This tank was a breakthrough for the Chinese tank building. In terms of its combat capabilities, this tank is close to the MBT of the leading tank-producing countries. In total, 18 cars were shown at the parade. Over the following years, about 200 more tanks were produced. At the same time, mass production was not deployed due to the relative high cost of the tank and design difficulties.
Undoubtedly, this tank became a kind of technical breakthrough for the Celestial Empire. China was finally able to create its own promising tank. At the same time, the engineers of the PRC followed the well-trodden path with the borrowing and improvement of other people's developments. The greatest influence on the PRC is still the Soviet / Russian school of tank building. Experts note a number of similarities between the Chinese tank and the T-72M. Its bow and chassis actually repeat the Soviet design. There were suspicions that 125 mm. the tank's gun was developed not without the influence of the Soviet 125-mm 2A46 cannon. Among other things, the Chinese tank received a carousel-type automatic loader, close to the Soviet and Russian counterparts. The use of AZ made it possible to reduce the crew of the tank to 3 people.
Layout and booking
The tank is made according to the classic layout with the MTS rear-mounted engine compartment. In front of the tank there is a control compartment - the driver's seat. The fighting compartment is located in the middle of the vehicle. The hull of the tank is approximately 1 meter lengthened compared to the hull of the T-72 tank. The lengthening of the hull at the rear is associated with freeing up space to accommodate a more voluminous German diesel engine. The increase in the front hull is due to the placement of a more massive turret with more armor. By its design, the turret of the Type 99 tank resembles its western counterparts. It should be noted that the upper frontal part of the tank hull is almost identical to the Soviet one installed on T-72 tanks and inherited all the weakened zones from it.
The difference between the hull of the Type-99 tank and the hull of the T-72 tank
The armor of the Type 99 tank resembles in its structure the armor of the Soviet T-80 and T-90 tanks. Armor is a layer of composite material, which is corundum, fiberglass or others, placed between two layers of steel. The turret of the tank has a welded structure and is made of armor plates of various thicknesses. The armor protection of the frontal projection of the MBT Type 99 of the late samples was enhanced by the use of reactive armor units placed on top of the main armor of the tank. At the same time, on the tower, the reactive armor blocks are located in a "corner", the rear niche of the tower was additionally reinforced, where the reactive armor blocks were mounted on top of the lattice basket. According to the Chinese side, the explosive reactive armor used is multi-layered and provides the tank with protection from both armor-piercing sub-caliber and cumulative ammunition.
Armament of the tank
The main firepower of the Chinese tank is a smooth-bore 125 mm tank gun. According to Chinese experts, this gun is superior in performance not only to its Soviet counterpart 2A46 by 45%, but also to the German RH-120 gun mounted on the Leopard 2A5 and Abrams M1A1 tanks by 30%. The main means of dealing with enemy tanks are armor-piercing sub-caliber projectiles - BPS, with a depleted uranium core. Apparently, China received the technology for their production from Israel, which once supplied the country with such shells.
The Israeli-supplied M711 shells had a length-to-diameter ratio of 20 to 1 and a muzzle velocity of 1700 m / s. Their armor penetration reached 600 mm. Currently, Chinese engineers are announcing the development of a new BTS, which is significantly superior to the existing counterparts. The new projectile has a length to diameter ratio of 30 to 1 and an initial velocity of 1780 m / s. Its armor penetration reaches 850 mm. Such a Chinese BPS can pose a significant threat to all existing tanks, including the Abrams M1A2 and T-90. According to a number of experts, the tank's armament may also include a guided weapon system (CUV) based on the Russian 9M119 Reflex complex.
The tank's cannon works in conjunction with a carousel-type autoloader for 22 rounds. It is assumed that the AZ was developed on the basis of the Soviet model with the introduction of a number of changes and elimination of deficiencies. The total ammunition capacity of the tank is 42 rounds. It should be noted that, unlike Western counterparts, the tank's ammunition is not separated from the crew.
As an auxiliary weapon on the tank, a 7.62 mm machine gun paired with a weapon is used, located to the right of the cannon (ammunition load of 2000 rounds) and an anti-aircraft 12, 7-mm machine gun, mounted on the turret in front of the commander's hatch (ammunition load of 300 rounds). Firing from a coaxial machine gun is carried out using an electric trigger, an anti-aircraft turret has only manual control and provides firing only in the front sector. The aiming angles of the anti-aircraft machine gun are from -4 to +75 degrees. On the sides of the tower, one 5-barrel smoke grenade launcher is mounted.
An exclusive feature of the Chinese MBT is the presence of a laser active protection system for the JD-3 * tank, which consists of a laser warning system LRW (a hybrid sensor mounted on the tower behind the commander's hatch) and a combat quantum generator - LSDW (in a box-shaped case on the tower behind the hatch gunner).
When a signal is received that a tank is being irradiated by an enemy laser beam, this complex rotates the tank tower towards the radiation source, after which a laser beam of weakened power is turned on, which determines the exact location of the enemy target. After the target is calculated, the power of the beam rises to a critical level and incapacitates the optical means or organs of vision of the enemy operator. According to experts, this complex is capable of striking human eyesight and optical devices at a distance of 2-3 km., When using a 7x magnification device up to 5 km., And at a distance of up to 10 km. may cause momentary flash blindness. In addition to the combat function, this complex can serve as a laser communication between tanks.
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Fire control system
The tank's control system consists of the combined sights of the commander and the gunner with independent stabilization. The gunner's sight is equipped with a laser rangefinder and a thermal imaging channel. The image from the thermal imager is displayed on 2 color displays of the gunner and commander (multiplicity x5 and x11, 4). The commander can fire from the gun without the participation of the gunner. The tank commander's sight is panoramic. The tank gun is stabilized in 2 planes. The tank is equipped with a digital ballistic computer, a set of sensors (indicators of atmospheric conditions, barrel wear, etc.), a multifunctional color panel for the commander. The tank is equipped with a navigation system with satellite (GPS) and inertial channels, data from which are fed to the commander's display and superimposed on a digital map of the area.
Shooting accuracy is achieved through the use of a ballistic computer, a laser rangefinder, a sensor system, and a thermal casing of the tank barrel. The stabilization of the gun in two planes guarantees high firing efficiency in motion. The rate of fire of the gun when using AZ reaches 8 rounds per minute, without it - 2 rounds per minute.
Engine and transmission
The tank is powered by a water-cooled turbocharged diesel engine with an output of 1,500 hp. This diesel engine was developed on the basis of the German MB871ka501 engine. With a tank mass of 54 tons, this engine allows it to reach speeds of 80 km / h when driving on the highway and up to 60 km / h when driving over rough terrain. The specific engine power is 27, 78 l / s per ton. Up to 32 km / h from a place, the tank is capable of accelerating in just 12 seconds. The tank is equipped with a mechanical planetary transmission with 7 speeds for forward and 1 for backward movement, this transmission is almost completely borrowed from the Soviet T-72M tank. In the field, an engine replacement can be completed in 30-40 minutes.
The undercarriage of the tank consists of 6 road wheels and 4 support rollers on each side. The gable rollers are equipped with rubber tires, the tank has a torsion bar suspension with hydraulic shock absorbers on the first two and the last suspension assembly. The drive wheel is located at the rear (pinned engagement). The tank track is equipped with a rubber-metal hinge.
