Type 99 tank
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| Type 99 | |
|---|---|
 A Type 99 tank at the China People's Revolution Military Museum in Beijing during the 2007 Our troops towards the sky exhibition. | |
| Type | Main Battle Tank |
| Place of origin |  People's Republic of China |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 54 tonnes |
| Length | 11.0 m |
| Width | 3.4 m |
| Height | 2.2 m |
| Crew | 3/4 |
| Armor | Composite with ERA |
Main armament | 125 mm smoothbore tank gun |
Secondary armament | 12.7 mm commander's machine gun, 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun |
| Engine | liquid-cooled diesel 1,500 hp (1,100 kW) |
| Power/weight | 27.4 hp/tonne |
| Suspension | torsion bar |
Operational range | 450 km, 600 km with external fuel |
| Maximum speed | 80 km/h (50 mph) |
The Type 99, also known as ZTZ-99 and WZ-123, developed from the Type 98G (in turn, a development of the Type 98), is a 3rd generation main battle tank (MBT) fielded by the Chinese People's Liberation Army. It has increased firepower, mobility and protection compared to older tanks such as the Type 59, Type 69/79, and Type 88. Though not expected to be acquired in large numbers due to its high cost compared to the more economical Type 96, it is currently the most advanced MBT fielded by China.
Development
The tank was revealed in October 1999 during the national parade and entered service in small numbers for operational tests and evaluation before the finalisation of the design.
The production version, known initially as Type 98 and later as Type 98G, and then finally improve the performance and named it as Type 99, was revealed in 2001. It had an improved engine, additional Leopard 2A5-style armour on the turret front and sides, and explosive reactive armour.
The official manufacturer's designation seems to be ZTZ-99. The tank is also known by its industrial index as the WZ-123 MBT. The unit price is greater than 16 million renminbi yuan (2006 price, ~2 million USD, ~1.6 million EUR).
In part due to its high cost, this tank will not be deployed in large numbers, like earlier models such as Type 59.
Type 98
After purchasing one hundred T-80 tanks from Russia[citation needed], the decision was made to incorporate some of its features into China's next-generation MBT, because the current generation of Chinese tanks were inadequate. The result was a new tank with a chassis similar to T-72 or T-80.
Type 98
This prototype is unique among current Chinese designs: it has a fourth crew member instead of an autoloader. The reason is that China had developed western-style ammunition rounds, where the propellant and warhead are integrated in a single unit instead of two separate parts, and the traditional Russian-made autoloader that handles the separate propellant and warhead was not suited to handle them. The transmission is manual instead of automatic like those on the newer Type 90.
Type 98G
The most obvious feature is that a modified autoloader was installed so that the crew was reduced to three from the original four. China has finally mastered the engine technology introduced from the West and Ukraine, and the power plant is a domestic 150HB 1,200-hp diesel engine.
Type 99
The latest member developed from the Type 98G with a 1,500-hp water cooled diesel engine.
Design
The design of the Type 99 was influenced by the Soviet T-72 and the German Leopard 2. It also has features new to the PLA, such as sloped turret armour for increased protection. The driver's compartment is in the front, with the fighting compartment directly behind, and power pack in the rear; Combining the traits of Western and Russian tanks.
To accommodate more equipment and ammunition, the Type 99's turret is slightly larger than that of the Type 90, resulting in a gap between the turret and hull in the front. This could be a major disadvantage in battle as it acts as a shot trap (much like the overhang on the German Leopard 2 and Israeli Merkava) and exposes the turret ring, increasing the likelihood of hits from the front jamming the turret. [citation needed]
This effect, however, is not to be confused with the World War II shot-trap effect, for modern long-rod kinetic energy penetrators (APFSDS) behave in a different manner to traditional solid shot armour-piercing rounds. The Leopard 2A5 and 2A6 also feature this wedge on the turret front, which is (on the Leopard, anyway) deliberately designed in such a way as to subject an incoming APFSDS round to yaw forces. This places the penetrator under enormous stress, so much so that it may shear, thus preventing its penetration of the turret. The projectile still imparts its kinetic energy to the turret, but not in a fashion that will penetrate the armour.
In addition, the Type 99 also lacks some features, often found on Western MBTs, that would minimise the damage caused by HEAT projectiles. For example, armour bulkheads separating the crew compartment from the fuel tanks and ammunition. Top panels designed to blow outwards in case of explosion are absent. This could lead to low damage survivability in combat, judging from to the experiences of the 1991 Gulf War.[citation needed]
The tank is equipped with an active laser defence system. The designers claim the laser warning receiver can determine the location of an attacking enemy tank, while the high-powered laser dazzler can damage or destroy the enemy's optics. It can also be used as a secure communications device.
The chief designer of Type 99 is Chongqing born Mr. Zhu Yusheng (祝榆生), who lost his right arm in an accident during a trials for mortar rounds in January 1948. When the project first started in the mid-1980s, Mr. Zhu Yusheng (祝榆生) had already retired but due to the lack of experienced designers, he was recalled. The deputy general designer was Mr. Wang Zherong (王哲荣). For their work, they were given the Achievement Rewards from the Chinese Arms Industrial Group Co. in the early 2000s.
Armament
The main armament is a fully-stabilised 125mm smoothbore gun with an autoloader. Despite the early reports indicating the gun was a licensed copy of the Russian 2A46, it is actually an indigenous design derived from the Chinese 120mm smoothbore gun. The autoloader, however, is an improvement from the Russian autoloader used in T-80, and modified to fire western-style munitions designed in China.
Ammunition includes armour-piercing fin stabilised discarding sabot (APFSDS), high explosive anti-tank (HEAT), and high explosive fragmentation (HE-FRAG) projectiles. China has also reportedly manufactured Russian AT-11 laser-guided anti-tank missiles (ATGM) to be fired from the 125 mm gun. In addition, the Chinese have experimentally developed depleted uranium (DU) rounds for their tanks and these may be available for use in the Type 99.
Armour
Currently, the actual armour composition of the Type-99/ZTZ-99 remains unknown. There are public photos of experimental Chinese composite armours, specifically Al2O3. Also, there are significant differences between the armour packages displayed on the current Type 99s and the ones first seen in 2004. Also interesting is that the additional frontal turret protection might very well be closely related to the latest Pakistani Al-Khalid's frontal turret protection, which consists of spaced armour (as found on German Leopard 2A5s and onward) covered with ERA. This, however, is disputed due to the fact that traditional spaced armour requires much more depth than the additions the Type 99 has received.
Another theory that has been suggested is that the armor additions are not ERA, but composite layers in block form. The reason is that the blocks are too large to be effectively used as ERA, since one detonation leads to a large unprotected area. Further support is given in the fact that Eastern Bloc armies had two armor packages after the introduction of ERA. Live ERA blocks for wartime and composite blocks for peacetime, as maintaining ERA blocks during operational conditions is both expensive and hazardous.[citation needed]
Fire Control and observation
Fire accuracy is attained by the laser rangefinder, wind sensor, ballistic computer, and thermal barrel sleeve. Dual axis stabilisation ensures effective firing on the move. The commander has six periscopes and a stabilised panoramic sight. Both the commander and gunner have roof-mounted stabilised sights fitted with day/thermal channels, a laser rangefinder and an auto tracker facility. The commander has a display showing the gunner's thermal sight, enabling the commander to fire the main gun. The Thermal Imaging System (TIS) with cooled detector using processing in the element (SPRITE) technology has magnification x11.4 narrow field of view and x5 wide field of view.
The Type 99 is also fitted with a computerised onboard information processing system, which can collect information from vehicle navigation (Inertia/GPS), observation systems and sensors, process it in the computer and display it on the commander's display, giving the ability of real-time command and beyond-vision-range target engaging.
Propulsion
The Type 99 is powered by a liquid cooled, turbocharged 1,500 hp diesel derived from the German MB871ka501 diesel technology. At its current battle weight of 54 t, this gives a power-to-weight ratio of about 27.78. The maximum speed by road is 80 km/h and 60 km/h cross country. Acceleration from 0 speed to 32 km/h only takes 12 seconds. The transmission provides seven forward and one reverse gears.
See also
Type 59/62 - Type 69/79 - Type 80/85/88 - Type 90/96 - MBT 2000 - Type 98/99 - T-72 - M-84 - M-95 - PT-91 - T-80 - T-84 - T-90 - T-95
External links
- Type 99 at Sinodefence.com
- The Chinese Type 99 Main Battle Tank: A New Beast from the East - China-Defense.com
- The New Chinese Type 99 MBT: A Second Look Reveals More Details - China-Defense.com
- Type 99 at Globalsecurity.org
- Type 98 at Armor ID Page
- Type 98 at centurychina fourm
- Type 98 at rusi.org
| Main battle | |
|---|---|
| Light / medium | |
| Prototypes, experimentals | |
Background: History of the tank, Tank classification | |
