Type-96B seen as pillar of nation's tank force

[艹艹艹]

08:26, August 10, 2016

The Type-96B tank is expected to replace many of the PLA's old tanks. [Photo/ChinaDaily]

China's military is likely to deploy the Type-96B tank as the pillar of its tank fleet,replacing most of its old models, observers said.

Gao Zhuo, a military observer in Shanghai who has close contact with the People'sLiberation Army, told China Daily that the excellent capabilities of the Type-96B qualify itto be the backbone of China's tank force.

"The Type-96B is the strongest variant of the Type-96 family and is truly an advanced,third-generation main battle tank," he said. "The PLA will use it to replace the old tankssuch as the Type-59 and Type-69 models."

His remarks came as the Type-96B delivered impressive performances in the ongoingMasters of Automobile and Tank Hardware competition, also known as the Tank Biathlon,at the Alabino training range in Moscow.

The PLA sent several Type-96B tanks to take part in the tank competition, the mostwatched part of the Russia-hosted International Army Games.

The eight-day individual part of the competition, which involved 54 teams from 17countries, ended on Sunday, with the Chinese delegation scoring the highest.

All of the PLA's three teams were to compete in the semifinal that started on Tuesday.

By the end of last year, the Chinese military had more than 7,000 tanks in active service,including about 2,000 Type-96s and Type-96As, as well as about 600 Type-99s andType-99As, so the majority of the PLA armored force is still equipped with tanks madeseveral decades ago, according to foreign military analysts.

Huang Guozhi, senior editor at Modern Weaponry magazine, said that despite the fact thatType-99 series tanks are more advanced, their high price and limited production capacitymean that it's unrealistic for the PLA to purchase and deploy them on a large scale.

"Therefore, the Type-96B, with a better price and satisfactory capabilities, is veryattractive to the Chinese and foreign militaries. It is the best option for the PLA tomodernize its armored forces," he said.

According to an article posted by China North Industries Group Corp on its WeChat socialmedia account, the Type-96B－compared with its predecessors in the Type-96 family－has a high-performance 125 mm smoothbore gun, an improved, more powerful engine,newly developed transmission gear and a state-of-the-art fire-control system.

Yu Shuo, a tank researcher in Beijing, said the Type-96B is among the latest achievementsby the nation's land arms industry. He suggested that too much emphasis should not beplaced on the results of the Tank Biathlon, as the experience gained is more important tothe PLA.

 

[xunzi]

I didn't realize the US tried to copy Russia inititive in a tank competition, except they suck at it. LOL



U.S. Crews Fail To Place in NATO Tank Competition

"Strong Europe Tank Challenge" sees all European crews on top.

By Kyle Mizokami
MAY 17, 2016

• 
  6.5k

A recent competition hosted in part by the U.S. Army and designed to test core tank crew skills saw European crews take the top honors, while crews from the U.S. Army failed to place. The results raise the question of whether the Army—after more than a decade of focusing on guerrilla warfare—has devoted adequate training to address "big war" skills.

Held from May 10 to 12 and jointly hosted by the U.S. Army and the German Bundeswehr at the Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany, the the Strong Europe Tank Challenge included challengers from six NATO countries: Denmark, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Slovenia—which sent tank platoons of four tanks each to compete— and the United States, which sent two platoons.





The competition involved tank crews conducting both offensive and defensive operations, and both mounted and dismounted activities. Crews fired ten main gun rounds from various positions. In one event, crews had to correctly identify 25 friendly and unfriendly (read: Russian) vehicles while traveling a course. Other events involved operating in the aftermath of a chemical weapons attack, dealing with improvised explosive devices, and medical emergencies.

A German tank crew from Mountain Panzer Battalion 7, Panzer Brigade 12 took top honors, followed by a Danish crew from their country's 1st Tank Battalion in second. Third place went to a Polish crew from the 34th Armored Cavalry brigade. It's unknown where the American crews placed, only that they weren't in the top three.

NATO sponsored tank challenges like this were routine during the Cold War—including the famous Canadian Army Trophy—but the Strong Europe Tank Challenge is the first multinational tank challenge to take place since 1991, the year the Soviet Union dissolved.

The winning German Army tank platoon.
As for the tanks themselves, the German platoon brought Leopard 2A6 tanks. An upgrade of the Cold War Leopard 2, the -A6 model features modified turret armor, giving the turret a more angular appearance. The -A6 also features enhanced mine protection and a 20 percent longer main gun barrel, imparting a higher velocity to projectiles.

Both Denmark and Poland brought Leopard 2A5 tanks, slightly older models but ones with largely with the same capabilities as the -A6. Italy brought a platoon of home-grown Ariete tanks. Slovenia brought M84 tanks, a copy of the Russian T-72 manufactured by Yugoslavia before the country's civil war. The United States brought its M1A2 Abrams tanks.

An Italian Ariete tank conducting a live fire exercise at Strong Tank.
This isn't the first time U.S. Army tankers have found themselves in an embarrassing situation. North Carolina National Guard tankers beat their Regular Army counterparts—and crews from the U.S. Marine Corps and Canadian Army—at the U.S. Army's 2016 Sullivan Cup. A tank crew consisting of an insurance adjustor, Pepsi truck driver, college student, and aspiring police officer beat fifteen other reserve and active duty tank crews to place first.

A Polish tanker with his PM-84 Glauberyt machine pistol during the pistol competition.
For decades, the U.S. Army's Armor Corps was a pillar of land power expected to fight the tank forces of Soviet Union on the European battlefield. After 9/11, with the exception of the invasion of Iraq, fighting so-called "high intensity conflict" took a back seat to fighting insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan. While most of the countries involved in the Strong Tank Challenge also sent ground forces to both countries, their commitments largely allowed their tankers to stay oriented on training and operation related to more traditional tank missions—i.e. fighting in big wars against other tanks.

The results in both competitions echo recent comments made by Army Chief of Staff Mark Milley and published in last Sunday's New York Times. Milley stated, "Today, a major in the Army knows nothing but fighting terrorists and guerrillas, because he came into the Army after 9/11. But as we get into the higher-end threats, our skills have atrophied over 15 years."

The primary "higher-end threat" is Russia. Russian land power is clawing back from two decades of neglect. Moscow is building several new families of armored vehicles, including the T-14 Armata main battle tank, T-15 heavy infantry fighting vehicle, Kurganets-25 infantry fighting vehicle, andBumerang family of wheeled armored personnel carriers. Russian campaigns in Ukraine and Syria, and aggressiveness against border states, has shown that President Vladimir Putin can and will use his army to achieve state goals.

Suddenly, the skills tested in the Strong Tank Challenge are more relevant than they've been in fifteen years. Although the loss must sting, it's at least a list of places to start when making much needed improvements. And, hopefully, making them fast.

Russia's new Armata tank.

 

[CAPRICORN-88]

08:26, August 10, 2016

The Type-96B tank is expected to replace many of the PLA's old tanks. [Photo/ChinaDaily]

China's military is likely to deploy the Type-96B tank as the pillar of its tank fleet,replacing most of its old models, observers said.

Gao Zhuo, a military observer in Shanghai who has close contact with the People'sLiberation Army, told China Daily that the excellent capabilities of the Type-96B qualify itto be the backbone of China's tank force.

"The Type-96B is the strongest variant of the Type-96 family and is truly an advanced,third-generation main battle tank," he said. "The PLA will use it to replace the old tankssuch as the Type-59 and Type-69 models."

His remarks came as the Type-96B delivered impressive performances in the ongoingMasters of Automobile and Tank Hardware competition, also known as the Tank Biathlon,at the Alabino training range in Moscow.

The PLA sent several Type-96B tanks to take part in the tank competition, the mostwatched part of the Russia-hosted International Army Games.

The eight-day individual part of the competition, which involved 54 teams from 17countries, ended on Sunday, with the Chinese delegation scoring the highest.

All of the PLA's three teams were to compete in the semifinal that started on Tuesday.

By the end of last year, the Chinese military had more than 7,000 tanks in active service,including about 2,000 Type-96s and Type-96As, as well as about 600 Type-99s andType-99As, so the majority of the PLA armored force is still equipped with tanks madeseveral decades ago, according to foreign military analysts.

Huang Guozhi, senior editor at Modern Weaponry magazine, said that despite the fact thatType-99 series tanks are more advanced, their high price and limited production capacitymean that it's unrealistic for the PLA to purchase and deploy them on a large scale.

"Therefore, the Type-96B, with a better price and satisfactory capabilities, is veryattractive to the Chinese and foreign militaries. It is the best option for the PLA tomodernize its armored forces," he said.

According to an article posted by China North Industries Group Corp on its WeChat socialmedia account, the Type-96B－compared with its predecessors in the Type-96 family－has a high-performance 125 mm smoothbore gun, an improved, more powerful engine,newly developed transmission gear and a state-of-the-art fire-control system.

Yu Shuo, a tank researcher in Beijing, said the Type-96B is among the latest achievementsby the nation's land arms industry. He suggested that too much emphasis should not beplaced on the results of the Tank Biathlon, as the experience gained is more important tothe PLA.

I tend to think that China is using these events to promote their Type-96B to their potential customers. China have more advance model than this one in their arsenal.

 

[BoQ77]

I wonder how many Type 96B in China inventory ?

 

[Dungeness]

I wonder know how many Type 96B in China inventory ?

Don't worry about the numbers. When it comes to mass production, Chinese are at their best.

 

[BoQ77]

Why suddenly Type 96B become pillar of China's tank force ?
Where Type 99 ?

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

Considering all the heavy weaponry , are tanks still impactful in todays Modern day warfare ?

 

[Economic superpower]

Why suddenly Type 96B become pillar of China's tank force ?
Where Type 99 ?

Just do everyone a favour and delete your account.

 

[艹艹艹]

Why suddenly Type 96B become pillar of China's tank force ?
Where Type 99 ?

 

[BoQ77]

Tanks role are fading.

Considering all the heavy weaponry , are tanks still impactful in todays Modern day warfare ?

 

[CAPRICORN-88]

Why suddenly Type 96B become pillar of China's tank force ?
Where Type 99 ?

Ordinary folks only get to view the export version - Type 096A or 096B

 

[Place Of Space]

Tanks role are fading.

nah, tank in city / street battle is still super monster. A dozen of tanks can destroy a whole big city, if enemey has no method of destroying them. Tank can hide its weakness among high buildings in city, comparing to running on desert, grassland or great plains.

 

[Baloch Pakistani]

Considering all the heavy weaponry , are tanks still impactful in todays Modern day warfare ?

ATGM is a nightmare for armor as proved in syrian conflict. ATGM teams can wreck havoc in the enemy armor columns.

 

[SBUS-CXK]

Why suddenly Type 96B become pillar of China's tank force ?
Where Type 99 ?

I guess, "backbone power" refers to the number of type 96 tank.

Type 99 is too expensive, so the equipment is not much.

 

[BoQ77]

I guess, "backbone power" refers to the number of type 96 tank.

Type 99 is too expensive, so the equipment is not much.

I didn't ask "why Type 96 become pillar of China tank force" but "why suddenly Type 96B become pillar of China tank force?" and previously I said I wonder how many Type 96B tanks China has ... because the thread title said "Type 96B ( not 96A ) seen as pillar .... "

As you know, there're Type 96A and 96B and 99 99A ...