By Jim Morris, Warrior Vice President, News
China reportedly is upgrading its ZTZ-99 main battle tank, adding an advanced protection system that includes two projectile launchers and four fire control radars.
That’s according to ArmyRecognition.com, which published a photo that was posted on X that is said to offer evidence that the tank is being upgraded.
The ZTZ-99 is China’s third-generation main battle tank. It’s based on the Soviet T-72 tank chassis, but that’s where the similarity ends. The ZTZ-99 entered service in 1999, and current versions are equipped with a 125mm main gun – called by some an unlicensed version of Soviet and Russian designs.
It also has advanced composite armor and explosive reactive armor and has a protection system, known as the GL-6, that is said to be capable of intercepting anti-tank missiles, rocket-propelled grenades and other projectiles. The upgraded version’s protection system apparently is an improvement on the GL-6.
More than 1,300 ZTZ-99s (also known as the Type 99) have been built in the last two decades. It’s not believed to have been used in combat yet.
Experts have tried to answer the question of whether the Chinese tank is a match for the different variants of the US M1 Abrams. The National Interest concluded that the ZTZ-99 is likely a threat to the older versions of the US tank (and also to most of the tanks in the Russian army), but would fall short in a battle with new American tanks.
The publication points out that the M1A2C tanks have improved thermal imagers which could increase detection and identification ranges, while the capabilities of Chinese thermal imagers are unknown.
Meanwhile, the US has moved more tanks to the Pacific to counter what is seen as a growing Chinese threat.
“Tank and armor capabilities in the Pacific are absolutely necessary for conducting operations out here is restricted terrain. And there is plenty of restricted terrain out here,” the commander of the US Army Pacific, Gen. Charles Flynn, told reporters last year.
The Army is developing a lighter, more fuel-efficient high-tech version of the Abrams, the M1E3, that planners believe would increase the tank’s mobility and survivability on the battlefield. The tank also would be easier to ship the long distances that would be required in a Pacific conflict.
The Navy now has ship-to-shore connectors (SSCs), built by Textron, that could be used to move Abrams tanks from large amphibious vessels into coastal and island areas in the Pacific to prepare for a land attack.
