New Type98/99 MBT thread
- Thread starter Dongfeng
- Start date
SinoSoldier
Colonel
Thunder run:
The vehicle is the Type 99A
The vehicle is the Type 99A
A Chinese model kit company that I haven't heard of released a last month. Initial reviews inspire confidence in its quality and I'm looking forward to getting one. But damn, that $50 price tag hurts. If the model is accurate enough, maybe I can get an idea of the ZTZ-99A's gun depression by pressing down on the model's gun.
SinoSoldier
Colonel
Does anybody know if the original Type 99 is still in production, or has it moved on to the Type 99A?
According to , original ZTZ-99 production has ended but ZTZ-99A production was suspended for some time due to use of high tensile-strength steel which is more difficult to weld. So far, only ~120 99As have been introduced to the army. ZTZ-96A production has continued steadily in the meantime.
SinoSoldier
Colonel
Thanks; is there any chance of seeing the VT-4 in service with the PLA?
The VT-4 seems like a downgrade from the ZTZ-99A to me; I don't know why the PLA would want to induct it. If the idea is to supplant 96As with VT-4s, there are flaws in that idea too.The ZTZ-96A is a low-cost, low-weight, well-balanced MBT suitable for the North, South and the Tibetan plateau which is why the PLA has continued its production. The VT-4 is essentially a ZTZ-99 with a new chassis which means, cost-wise and weight-wise, it's in the same class as the ZTZ-99A but without the cutting-edge technology of the latter. It offers no advantage over the 96A that the 99A does not, and the 99A is better in most categories.
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SinoSoldier
Colonel
aka MBT-3000? Any chance of the PLA purchasing it?
Keyboard fk-up made me post prematurely. And yeah, VT-4 = MBT3000.
When you say ZTZ-96A do you mean the model that was sent to the most recent Russian tank biathlon?