Type-99 (A China Military Tank)

T-99 CHINA

Type 99, a 3rd generation main battle tank operated by the Peoples Liberation Army of China, is the fastest tank in the world. The ZTZ99 MBT is considered one of the 12 best tanks in the world. A unit of Type 99 is worth ¥ 17,417,659 Renminbi, approximately US$2.5 million. It is also known as ZTZ-99 and WZ-123. The newest and much improve variant is the Type 99KM

It is currently the most advanced MBT in the People's Liberation Army. It entered the PLA service in 2001.

Its Notable features and specifications are as follows:-

• 1. It is equipped with newer modular active protection system
• 2. It has a JD-4 active laser defense system
• 3. It has more powerful engine
• 4. It is also equipped with a 155 mm gun capable of firing next-generation kinetic rounds
• 5. It has sloped turret armor for increased protection
• 6. The driver's compartment is in the front
• 7. The fighting compartment lies directly behind the driver’s compartment
• 8. Its engine is installed in the rear.
• 9. It features a dual-axis stabilized 125mm/50-calibre ZPT98 smoothbore gun.
• 10. It carries Russian anti-tank missiles called 9M119 Refleks.
• 11. This tank can attain a top speed of 80km/h
• 12. It weighs 54 tonnes for Type-99G, 57 tonnes for Type-99A1, 58 tonnes for Type-99A2
• 15. It has a length of 11.0 meters and a width of 3.4 meters
• 14. It is operated by 3 crews

More about T-99

Western forces beware, the Chinese have fielded the most advanced tank yet! Well, only the most advanced in China that is. Following in the ancient Chinese tradition of quantity over quality and cheap products, the Chinese have developed their own 3rd generation battle tank that they believe is the answer to the Western nations’ superior tank designs. Likewise, they also used their other ancient tradition of ripping off western designs to compensate for their lack of engineering ability in the design of this tank. Yes, the Type 99 tank does possess many up-to-date gimmicks like a laser awareness system to locate the direction of shots fired at it assuming they don’t destroy it first I guess, and it can also be used to scramble an enemy tank’s optics, I guess again under the assumption that the enemy tank’s optics weren’t used to target and then subsequently destroy it. Among other criticisms laid down by numerous armor enthusiasts, observe the area located directly under the turret, how the armor is concave rather than convex, this design renders this area a “shot trap”, which is a serious design blunder that increases vulnerability to frontal fire, the most common in a tank-on-tank battle. A shot could also jam the turret in this area even if it didn’t destroy the tank or kill it’s occupants. All in all, the Chinese have successfully developed a tank that rivals the western designs in speed, electronics, and almost there with the armor, but they still fall short in the overall design having not had any modern experience with tanks in battle.