China has published images corresponding to training with his new Type 100 main battle tank (MBT)also known as ZTZ-100confirming that it has already entered service with the People’s Liberation Army Ground Forceaccording to the defense media Army Recognition.
Although modern war scenarios increasingly rely on the use of unmanned platforms, the main military powers have not given up on developing new generation combat tanks. Russia has the T-14 Armata, USA he AbramsX and China has managed to develop, between 2016 and 2022, the Type 100, which it has prepared for the battlefield in four years.
This is the Type 100 tank
The ZTZ-100 is a medium combat tank that will operate in a mixed fleet alongside the Type 99 heavy and the Type 15 light. With an estimated height of between 2.2 and 2.5 meters and a weight of between 35 and 45 tonsis manufactured by the combat tank plant of Baotoudependent on Inner Mongolia First Machinery Groupand has entered production in a low-paced initial series, with just over four units observed so far.
The new Chinese MBT incorporates an unmanned turret and fully remote operated, equipped with automatic loader. The crew is made up of a driver, a commander and a gunnerrelocated to a sealed compartment at the front of the helmet. The design separates the crew from the ammunition stored in the turret and integrates ventilation systems to channel the shock wave and reduce damage in the event of an internal explosion, as well as ejection panels designed to detach in that situation, so that the pressure is released to the outside and not into the crew compartment.
The main armament of the Type 100 is a 105 mm smoothbore gunwith an estimated cadence of up to 12 shots per minute. Although the caliber of the gun is smaller than that of NATO and Russian tanks, it achieves similar penetration thanks to its arrow-type subcalibrated armor-piercing projectilesstabilized by fins and with disposable sabot (APFSDS), which have a declared initial speed of 1,706 meters per second.
The unmanned turret configuration provides additional space for a crew of 40 projectileswith an effective range of between 2 and 4 km. The secondary armament is a coaxial machine gun 7.62mm QJY-201. A 12.7mm remote weapon stationequipped with thermal and optical scopes, acts as an anti-drone and air defense system.
New generation tank
China classifies the Type 100 as a combat tank fourth generation. Although this is not an internationally standardized classification, it indicates that it constitutes a significant improvement over conventional tanks.
The periscopes and optical scopes have been replaced by augmented reality headsets that offer a 360-degree visual environment using data from cameras, radars and sensors. The helmets overlap information on targets, navigation and vehicle status in the operator’s field of view, while the head tracking allows weapons to be aligned with the line of sight, which speeds up target acquisition by up to 40%.
Instead of relying solely on heavy armor, the Type 100 uses an active protection system composed of eight interceptors capable of shooting down anti-tank guided missiles, rocket-propelled grenades, munitions designed to attack the upper armor of the enemy vehicle and loitering munitions at distances between 10 and 30 meters.
The tank’s hybrid-electric propulsion system generates 1,119 kWapproximately equivalent to 1,521 HPand can reach speeds of about 80km/h on the road and 50km/h outside of it, with an autonomy of up to 600 kmdriven mainly by its diesel engines.
Low-rate production places the cost of each unit at up to 7.5 million dollarsa figure that is expected to drop to 6 million dollars when the manufacturing rate increases.