Al-Khalid
| MBT 2000 (Al-Khalid) | |
|---|---|
Al-Khalid at a trade fair in Pakistan (2012) |
|
| General properties | |
| crew | 3 (commander, driver, gunner) |
| length | 10.07 m |
| width | 3.50 m |
| height | 2.40 m |
| Dimensions | 46 tons |
| Armor and armament | |
| Armor | Composite armor |
| Main armament | 1 × 125 mm smoothbore cannon |
| Secondary armament | 1 × 7.62mm machine gun (coaxial) and
1 × 12.7mm machine gun (turret top) |
| agility | |
| drive | 12-cylinder diesel 6TD 885 kW (1200 PS) |
| suspension | Torsion bar |
| Top speed | 70 km / h |
| Power / weight | 19.3 kW / t (26.2 PS / t) |
| Range | 400 km |
Al-Khalid is a Pakistani main battle tank . This pattern (along with the atomic bomb and the Chengdu FC-1 fighter aircraft ) represents the pinnacle of the Pakistani government's efforts to achieve independent Pakistani arms production.
description
Planning and testing was subject to numerous problems until production could start in 2000. A year later, the troop received the first copy. It is estimated that there are currently over 320 vehicles of this type in service with the Pakistani armed forces . More are to be added. The cooperation with the People's Republic of China and the Ukraine was decisive for the development of the tank . The influence of the Chinese armaments company Norinco can be seen, for example, in the 125 mm smooth barrel cannon with a self-loading mechanism, which is also installed in the Chinese Type 98 . In the specialist literature, parallels are drawn between the Al-Khalid and the Chinese Type 90 II, on which the design of the Pakistani model is based. Since the Type 90 II did not meet the expectations of the People's Liberation Army , one can assume that the design has been adapted accordingly.
The Pakistani tank, like its Chinese counterpart, has composite armor, which is supplemented by reactive plates. It is also based on modern electronics for sighting the enemy. The tank is fully capable of night combat. During the development, special attention was paid to suitability in desert terrain , so the decision was made to use the more reliable Ukrainian engines to the detriment of the Chinese engines. At the same time, the dilemma about independent arms production is evident here too. The tank is assembled in Pakistan, but most of the critical components come from China or the Ukraine. So there can be no question of real independence. The real savings in developing tanks themselves can be seen in terms of the price of foreign currency for the procurement of comparable Western or Russian specimens. According to the Pakistani military, the cost of the finished prototype is only 20 million US dollars .
operator
- Bangladeshi Armed Forces - 44 VT1A in service (2011)
- Armed Forces of Morocco - 54 VT-1As in service (2011), another 96 planned
- Myanmar Armed Forces - 50 in service (2013)
- Pakistani Armed Forces - Around 500 Al-Khalid tanks in service, a total of 600 planned.
- Sri Lankan Armed Forces - 22 VT1A ordered
- People's Liberation Army - 3 VT1A as training vehicles
Individual evidence
- ↑ Bangladesh army gets 44 new Chinese main battle tanks MBT 2000 and Locating Radar LLC-2 . December 17, 2012. Archived from the original on July 8, 2014. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
- ^ Trade Register on sipri.org , Retrieved July 31, 2019
- ^ Air Marshall (Retd) Ayaz Khan: India-Pakistan Military Balance . In: riazhaq.com . January 15, 2009. Archived from the original on July 8, 2014. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
