The Chinese defense industry continues to improve the Type 96B main battle tank. This vehicle took part in the “Tank Biathlon”, held in Alabino near Moscow.
For the first time to compete in Russia Type 96 modifications "A" arrived in 2014 year. But, it turned, that the power of an eight hundred horsepower engine is not enough, to compete with the modernized Russian T-72B3 tanks.
“Therefore, at first it was decided to compensate for the lag by using a modified lightweight chassis. Then a thoroughly modified version was thrown into the fight for the champion title, designated Type 96B, which, according to some, received an engine with a power of 1200 hp, which allowed the tank to reach speeds of up to 70 km/h", – says the material of the Russian newspaper.
According to the information, the car continues to improve. photo, appeared on the Internet, a modified version of the Type 96B was presented for the first time. According to the author, "first, what caught my eye: The tank received a remote-controlled anti-aircraft gun mounted on the roof of the turret with a 12.7 mm W85 machine gun.". Now the vehicle commander will not have to expose himself to bullets and shrapnel while firing a machine gun.
The improvements are also evidenced by the increased size of the sight.. In turn, the driver received a video camera mounted on the upper front part of the body. Besides, chassis rollers and caterpillar tracks have been strengthened.
Some experts call this tank a competitor to the T-90M. "In fact, despite significant changes, Type 96B is still inferior to the car “Uralvagonzavod”. First of all, in terms of protection and firepower characteristics. The design features of the Chinese car do not allow achieving the characteristics “ninetieth” in principle, reserves for improvement have been exhausted. What cannot be said about Russian technology, which still has significant modernization potential", – the publication concludes.
used photos: https://twitter.com/KomandanteS17
