Chinese main battle tank type 99 (ztz-99)

The main battle tank "Ture 99" (ZTZ-99) was designed under the leadership of Zhu Yusheng by the North China Engineering Research Institute No. 201 (NEVORL, Beijing) together with the First Engineering Company (FIRMAKO, Baotou) in the late 1990s. In 2000, an experimental Type 98G tank was manufactured. which became the prototype of the Tour 99. Since 2000, the tank has been in mass production. By the beginning of 2020, the PLA tank units were armed with 600 Tour 99 tanks (500 Tour 99, 100 Type 99A).

Description of the design of the Ture 99 tank

The Tour 99 tank has a classic layout with a control compartment located in the bow of the hull, a fighting compartment in the central part of the hull, above which a turret is installed, and a motor transmission compartment in the rear of the hull. The tank's crew consists of three people and is located as follows: the tank commander is in the turret to the right of the gun, the gunner is in the turret to the left of the gun, and the driver is in the bow of the hull along the longitudinal axis of the tank.

The tank hull is welded, with combined armoring of the upper frontal part. The given thickness of the upper frontal part of the hull is 480 - 550 mm. sides - 30-100 mm. roofs - 30 - 40 mm. A device for self-digging is mounted on the lower front sheet.

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The tank's turret is also of welded construction, made of armor plates of various thicknesses, with replaceable modular blocks in the bow, equipped with combined armor barriers. At the rear of the tower there is a niche equipped with lattice anti-cumulative screen-baskets. The given thickness of the frontal part of the tower is 640 - 790 mm. sides - 160 - 200 mm. Mounted dynamic protection is installed on the upper frontal parts of the tank's hull and turret.

The main armament of the tank consists of a 125 mm ZPT-98 smoothbore gun-launcher. The gun barrel is equipped with a thermal insulating casing. Electromechanical automatic loader of carousel type for 22 shots. The gun's ammunition capacity is 41 rounds of separate cartridge loading with armor-piercing sub-caliber rounds. armor-piercing cumulative and high-explosive fragmentation shells. The gun barrel can fire 9M119 Reflex anti-tank guided missiles, produced in China under license.

As auxiliary weapons, the tank is equipped with two machine guns: a coaxial 7.62-mm machine gun "Ture 86" (to the right of the gun) with 2000 rounds of ammunition and an anti-aircraft 12.7-mm W-85 (in front of the commander's hatch) with 300 rounds of ammunition. The manually controlled QJC-88 anti-aircraft machine gun mount provides firing only in the front sector. In addition, there are two 5-barrel blocks of “Ture 84” smoke grenade launchers installed on the sides of the turret.

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The automated fire control system includes a periscope sight for the gunner, with independent stabilization of the field of view in two planes, equipped with a built-in laser range finder and thermal imaging channel and an automatic target tracking system, a panoramic periscope combined sight and observation device for the tank commander, with independent stabilization of the field of view in two planes, displays of the tank commander and gunner, a multifunctional control panel for the tank commander, a two-plane stabilizer of tank weapons with an electro-hydraulic drive for vertical and electrically driven horizontal guidance, a digital ballistic computer with automatic sensors for incoming information, an inertial navigation system and a GPS satellite positioning system. When the gunner is disconnected from fire control, the tank commander can fire from the tank's weapons independently.

The power plant uses a multi-fuel 12-cylinder four-stroke V-shaped diesel engine with water cooling and turbocharging MTU МВ871 Ka501 with a power of 1500 hp. Two onboard planetary gearboxes with hydraulic control are interlocked with the engine into a single power unit, providing 7 forward speeds and one reverse.

The chassis of the tank, in relation to one side, includes 6 dual-slope road wheels with rubber tires. 4 support rollers, one front idler wheel and one rear drive wheel. The suspension is torsion bar with vane hydraulic shock absorbers on the first two and last suspension units. The caterpillar is equipped with a rubber-metal hinge.

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The tank's special equipment consists of a laser system for active suppression of optical guidance systems JD-3. collective defense systems against weapons of mass destruction. automated high-speed fire-fighting equipment, underwater driving equipment.

Notes

1. ↑
2. International Institute for Strategic Studies.
   The Military Balance 2020 / James Hackett. - London: Taylor&Francis, 2020. - P. 241. - ISBN ISBN 9781857438352.
3. ↑ [www.topwar.ru/411-kitajskij-tank-tip-99-odin-iz-trex-luchshix-v-mire-po-boevomu-potencialu.html “The Chinese Type 99 tank is one of the three best in the world in terms of combat potential" "Military Review]
4. (unavailable link). Retrieved February 4, 2009.
5. ↑
6. ↑
7. (unavailable link). Retrieved December 27, 2011.
8. The Military Balance 2020. - P. 260.
9. . Uralvagonzavod.
10. . KHKBM.
11. . Army Guide

    .

12. . British Army Website

    .

13. . Army Technology

    .

14. . Armor website of Chobitka Vasily

    . Retrieved April 3, 2007.

15. . Army Technology

    .

16. . Army Technology

    .

    Read also:  Lee Enfield rifle - Rifle Short, Magazine, Lee-Enfield - SMLE (UK)
17. . Military-Today

    .

18. Mikhalkov, Nikita

    .
    Moscow: Tele, official VGTRK channel on Youtube (06/11/2016). Retrieved October 16, 2020; script: Alexander Khramchikhin.
    .
    www.snob.ru
    (21 June 2013). Retrieved November 21, 2020.

Modifications of the Tour 99 tank

• "Ture 99" (ZTZ-99) is a serial tank produced since 2000.
• "Type 99G" is an experimental tank with a new sighting system and an active protection system.
• "Ture 99A1" is a serial modification of the tank with built-in dynamic protection.
• "Ture 99A2" (2009) - a new built-in dynamic protection capable of neutralizing anti-tank ammunition with a tandem warhead, a new sighting and observation system for the tank commander, an integrated motion control system, and an active protection system were installed.

Mobility

Type 99 is the fastest of the three.
Sebastian Roblin estimates the speed of the Chinese car at 80 km/h on the highway. The M1A2 Abrams has a speed of 67 km/h, while the Russian T-90MS has a speed of 72 km/h. Photo: btvt.narod.ru

At the same time, the cruising range of the M1A2 Abrams is 386 km, while the Type 99 and T-90 have approximately 482 km. Also, the heavy weight of the American tank makes it difficult to transport.

In general, the advantage in firepower is on the side of the M1A2 Abrams. According to the expert, Type 99 has the best protection, thanks to combined armor and special defensive systems. True, the superiority of the Chinese vehicle is debatable due to the fact that its protection has never been tested in practice and it is not known how it will behave in battle.

If the T-90A is inferior to both of the above vehicles, then the T-90MS can counter them thanks to the Relikt complex, the new Kalina fire control system and other improvements.

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JD-3 system[edit]

Like the Type 98 prototype, the Type 99 tank is equipped with an integrated JD-3 laser active countermeasures system, consisting of an integrated laser rangefinder, an LRW laser warning sensor and an LSDW combat quantum generator.

When receiving a signal that a tank is being irradiated by an enemy laser beam, the warning system gives a signal to turn the turret towards the detected source, then a low-power pulsating laser beam is turned on, determining the exact location of the target, after which the beam power instantly increases to a critical level and disables optical means or the organs of vision of the enemy operator.

The JD-3 is a blinding laser weapon. But it does not fall under Protocol IV to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons of October 13, 1995.

Development

It is a development of the concept of the Soviet T-72 tank. However, provided the line of 72s continues, the Type 99 is a breakthrough for Chinese tank building. The tank has a new welded turret installed; the weakened area in the area of ​​the driver's hatch, which was present on all Soviet tanks since the T-72, has been reduced.

Development of the Type 99 tank began back in the 1970s. Individual parts and systems were tested on prototypes WZ1224 and WZ1226 in the 1980s; and on the Type 90 tank.

The armament, automatic loader, and chassis as a whole were borrowed from the Type 90 II prototype (not to be confused with the Japanese Type 90″).

On the Type 99, the combined armor protection of the frontal projection of the tank is strengthened by installing built-in dynamic protection located on top of the main armor. In addition, the aft niche of the tower is additionally protected by installing dynamic protection on the lattice basket. A similar reservation scheme could also be seen on the modernized Type 96 tank and the Pakistani Al-Khalid[6][7].

Serial production began in 1998, but only 60 tanks were produced, one of which was revealed in 2000 as the "Type 98G". The development of this version was carried out by the North China Mechanical Engineering Research Institute No. 201 (NEOVORI) in Beijing and the First Machinery Manufacturing Company in Baotou. It was decided to put an improved version into mass production. When developed, it was intended to combat the T-72 and T-90; and later with Abrams. An improved version (Type 99) was first shown in Beijing at a parade on October 1, 2009.[8] During the “tank biathlon 2017” it showed frankly low results in shooting and chassis reliability. In 2020, the tank was not entered into competitions for marketing reasons.

Operators[edit]

• China - 500 Type 99 and 250 Type 99A, as of 2018.

Chinese armored vehicles after 1991

1914 — 1945 → 1946 — 1990 → 1991–present

Tanks from other countries

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