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Type 96
General characteristics
Crew	3
Length	10.28 m
Width	3.45 m
Height	2.30 m
Weight	46 tonnes
Armour and armament
Armour	[secret] Latter are fitted with armour modules and ERA plates
Main armament	125 mm smoothbore gun
Secondary armament	7.62 mm coaxial machine gun 12.7 mm air-defence machine gun
Mobility
Power plant	diesel 1000 hp (750 kW)
Suspension	torsion bar
Road speed	65 km/h
Power/weight	21 hp/tonne
Range	450 km, 600 km with external fuel

The Type 96 is the latest variant of China's second-generation main battle tank (MBT). Based on the Type 85-III design, the Type 96 entered service with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in 1997. As of 2005, an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 Type 96 MBT's are currently in service with the PLA.

Generally speaking, PLA's tank development can be divided into 3 generations. The first generation is the Soviet T-54/55 copy and derivatives, produced in China as the Type 59. The second generation MBT started with the Type 80, which branched off to T-88 and T-96 developed by different institutes but all funded by China North Industries Corporation (NORINCO). The third generation MBT started with the developmental Type 98 MBT, and being heavily modified to the latest model known as Type 99 MBT.

Contents 1 History 2 Type 80 2.1 Type 80 2.2 Type 80-II 3 Type 85 3.1 Type 85 3.2 Type 85-I 3.3 Type 85-II 3.4 Type 85-IIA 3.5 Type 85-IIM 3.6 Type 85-IIAP 3.7 Type 85-III 4 Type 88 4.1 Type 88 4.2 Type 88B 4.3 Type 88A 4.4 Type 88C 5 Type 90 5.1 Type 90 5.2 Type 90-I 5.3 Type 90-II 5.4 Type 90-IIM 6 Type 96 7 See also 8 External links 9 References

After the Sino-Soviet split in 1960s, relations between China and the Soviet Union gradually worsened, leading to border clashes in 1969. By 1970s, over 1.5 million troops from both sides were stationed along the Sino-Soviet border. At the time the best Chinese tanks were copies of Soviet T-54/55 MBT's, which were hopelessly out-matched by new Soviet designs like the T-62, T-64, and T-72.

The People's Liberation Army requested new tanks that could match the Soviets, which led to the development of T-69 by 617 Factory (now Inner-Mongolia First Machinery Group Company Ltd), incorporating some technologies from a captured Soviet T-62 tank. [1] However the T-69 failed to satisfy PLA requirements, and was more of an export success (over 2,000 sold) than domestic use. As a result, new tank development was commenced and a new family of tanks that included many sub-families was the result.

Type 80 is first of the second generation tanks of China.

Prototype design based on Type 79 hull, with following improvements:

• New chassis incorporating a wheel/track system with 6 small wheels, 3 track rollers, and rubber track skirt
• First Chinese tank to have an all welded turret, increasing protection level
• 730 hp 1215OL-7BW diesel engine licensed from Germany
• Type 37A dual-axis stabilised light spot fire control system (FCS) with external laser rangefinder, licensed from UK
• Type 83 105mm rifled gun, NATO-standard, licensed from Austria

Type 80 with following improvements:

• Laser range-finder integrated with FCS
• Built-in test system to identify malfunction
• Lens protection system for sights
• NBC protection with overpressure system
• Turret surrounded by storage racks for extra protection
• First Chinese tank to feature a collective NBC protection system so that crew need not to wear individual NBC protection gear inside the tank.

It is unclear if the different factories were in competition, or jointly developing the new second generation tank. What is known is that China's North Industries Group Corporation (Norinco), most likely in association with 201 Institute (now China North Vehicle Research Institute), unveiled their own version, the T-85 MBT in 1988. The PLA did not initially accept the T-85 MBT, and it was further developed for export to Pakistan (Type 85-IIAP and Type 85-III). Later, during the 1991 Gulf War, the PLA observed that their current (1991-era) tanks were vastly inferior to Western MBTs. Priorities were given to develop a third-generation tank, and as well as improving the existing second-generation design. Type 85 is a direct development of Type 80, and over 600 are in Chinese service, while an additional 300+ are in Pakistani service.

Prototype with Type 80 chassis, welded turret, and 105mm rifled main gun (Type 83?). Since the project was intended to be an export model and the Chinese government did not fund the project originally, this prototype was reportedly borrowed from a museum and when tests were completed, the vehicle was returned to the museum without the main gun, and a photo of this vehicle was circulated on the internet in the early 2000's.

Improved Type 85 with heat sleeve for main gun. The turret incorporated composite armor.

Improved Type 85-I with upgraded fire-control system. The fire control system incorporates the laser rangefinder, the onboard computer, and the wind sensor. The automatic loader is reportedly derived from that of T-72 obtained from Middle East (Possibly from Iraq or captured Iraqi samples from Iran). Various solid-state electronic upgrades.

Type 85-II with a domestic 125 mm smoothbore gun replacing the original 105 mm rifled gun. The auto-loader for 125mm rounds based on the Soviet 2A46 design

Introduced in mid 1990s with following upgrades:

• Enhanced armor protection
• Introduced the ISFCS (Image Stablized Fire Control System) with improved FCS and night vision.

Served as the prototype of Type 88C.

License-built T-85-IIA in Pakistan by Taxila Heavy Industries, but with the 125 mm gun and associated auto loader. Some are installed with Weston Simfire 2 training equipment. Over 300 are in serive in Pakistan, and all of them are upgraded to the Type 85-III level. [2]

This was an export version intended for Pakistan with 1,000 hp diesel engine, and the 125 mm smoothbore gun. However, domestic Chinese engine technology was inadequate and during the demonstration in Pakistani desert, the engine failed and black smoke produced covered the entire tank, and thus was rejected by Pakistan. When the problem was finally solved, Norinco also incorporated additional features in 1995 such as ERA upgrade, but by then more advanced models already existed and thus the new tank did not enter mass production. However, Type-85-III had since become the standard for all other earlier Type-85 MBT to upgrade to, including those Type 85-IIAP exported to Pakistan.

In the late 1970s, China's 617 Factory (main contractor), 616 Factory, 477 Factory, and 201 Institute (now China North Vehicle Research Institute) were ordered to develop China's new second-generation tank. The project benefitted from imported Western Technologies in the 1980s. The first Type 80 MBT was based on the older Type 79 MBT hull, but equipped with new Chinese-made wheels/tracks, German-designed 730hp diesel engine, British-designed dual-axis stabilized fire-control with laser range-finder, and NATO-standard 105mm gun licensed from Austria. The improved version of this tank later entered service in 1988 under the PLA designation of Type 88. The Type 88 tank is unique in that unlike the rest series of Chinese tanks, this series actually includes versions from different families of earlier tanks.

First Chinese tank to have explosive reactive armor and was accepted into PLA service in 1988, based on T-80II design. Front storage racks on turret removed to fit explosive reactive armor (ERA) plates.

Improved Type 88 with new auto-loading system for domestic 105mm ammunition. FCS system was later replaced by new ISFCS-212 ISFCS.

Introduced after Type 88B, the main gun was replaced by improved 105mm Type 83-I with longer tube and better performance. Fitted with FY-series double ERA plates for better protection against APFSDS and HEAT-FRAG rounds.

Developed from Type 85-IIM which had a more powerful 125mm smoothbore gun, and the ISFCS-212 fire control system of this tank was later retrofited on Type 88A and Type 88B. The engine was originally the same as Type 80 and earlier Type 85, but once the problem of 1000 hp engine solved, it replaced the original engine.

Production of Type 88-series MBT's were stopped in 1995. About 400 to 500 Type 88-series tanks are in service with the PLA today.

Type 85 further developed in to Type 90, but besides a few test vehicles for evaluation, this tank was not adopted by People's Liberation Army, instead, the tank became the export model for Pakistan which developed MBT-2000 (Al-Khalid) tank based on Type 90. This tank was jointly developed by Beijing 201 Institute (China North Vehicle Research Institute) and Inner Mogolia 617 Factory (Inner Mongolia First Machine Group Corporation).

This is the first Chinese tank to incorporate the modular design concept for its armor. The frontal arc of the turret is a modular design so that when more advanced composite armor is developed, it can be readily replace older composite armor.

This was the export model for the next generation main battle tank for Pakistan. The power plant is the British Perkins Shrewsbury CV12-1200 TCA diesel engine (the one used on Challenger 2 tank), and the transmission is the French SESM ESM 500 automatic transmission (the one used on Leclerc). However, the project was abandoned because due to the 1998 Pakistani nuclear tests, these items were embargoed.

The most significant difference between this version and earlier version is that in order to avoid the problem of embargo and foreign reliance, the power plant of Type 90-I is replaced by the domestic Chinese equivalent. However, the result was disappointing because China had yet to master the technology: although the power plant was somewhat adequate enough in the humid climate in southern China, the reliability did not meet the standard in arid climate in northern China and the harsher desert climate in Pakistan.

To overcome the shortcomings of the powerplant in earlier Type 90 versions, Ukrainian 6TD diesel was chosen. The selection was impressive enough that Pakistan decided to adopt this version for its MBT 2000 and 600 were scheduled to be locally produced in Pakistan by 2007.

In 1995, NORINCO developed the T-85-III prototype with 1000 hp diesel engine and explosive reactive armor (ERA) after finally solving the engine problem. This version was accepted by the PLA in 1996, and entered service in 1997 as the Type 96. Production of the Type 88 stopped when the Type 96 became available, and the Type 96 was mass-produced in larger numbers than the Type 88, though sometimes mistakenly referred to as the Type 88C. In comparison to Type 85 and Type 88, Type 96 features more powerful engine, improved electronics and a western style turret. In order to provide PLA an affordable yet powerful main battle tank, from the recent photos suggest the type 96 was heavily modified with add-on armour modules and explosive reaction armour (ERA) plates which is similar to Type 99, in addition to its internal electronic may as well being upgraded to Type 99 standard. In turn, most bloggers referring this new upgrade as Type 96G.

Currently an estimated >1,500 are in service with PLA, and the production is likely to continue. In the same way as T-72 and T-64, Type 96 will likely to become the standardized MBT in service with PLA throughout the decade while having the more advanced yet expensive Type 99 in reserved for its elite units. Besides the cost, another reason is that the latter was too heavy for the soft soil in southern China whereas the lighter Type 96 is better suited for these conditions^{[citation needed]}.

Analysts speculate that the PLA accepted the Type 96 because;

1. It was superior to the T-88
2. It provided a low-cost replacement to T-59/T-69 MBT's,
3. Observations from the 1991 Gulf War showed the need for a new tank that could stand up to Western MBT's
4. Development on the third-generation MBT was delayed. ^[1]

Type 59/62 - Type 69/79 - Type 80/85/88/90/96 - Type 98/99 - T-72 - T-90

• Type 88C Main Battle Tank: A Photo Essay - China-Defense.com
• Type 80/88 Main Battle Tank - GlobalSecurity.org
• Type 96 Main Battle Tank - GlobalSecurity.org
• Type 88 Main Battle Tank - Chinese Defense Today
• Type 96 Main Battle Tank - Chinese Defence Today
• Type 96 Main Battle Tank - Deagel.com
• Type 96 Main Battle Tank - Modellversium.de
• Type 96 Main Battle Tank - collinsj/msh_chinese
• Type 96 MBT Production Line - Global Defence Forum

1. ^ http://www.sinodefence.com/army/tank/type96.asp

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