PLA Next Generation Main Battle Tank
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Indeed if the soundtrack of the footage is unmodified. No visible exhaust fume/smoke either. Could it be a hybrid running on electric motors at the moment?
"Lane for tank"
I think hybrid propulsion was one thing we expected in next gen MBT along with unmanned turret, APS, optional unmanned operation, compound tracks, etc.
How would we even know this is a next gen MBT and not a Type 15 replacement or something? The hull does not seem to be very armored and don't seem to have mounting points for ERAs like the Type 15 or it might be the Chinese moving to LFP armor like the Abrams and straying Russian's design of having armor on the UFP only. I heard someone back then mention them working on LFP armor configuration.
If it is a type 15 replacement, it would still be next gen.
Advanced MBTs are shrinking in size, especially for countries interested in rapid deployment/response.
Its true we don´t know what this actually is supposed to be. However, an MBT isn´t described by X protection level or firepower or whatever, rather if the tank in question is utilized as an MBT per each army´s doctrine. I believe this tank is supposed to replace both MBTs and Light Tanks in PLA service over time so perhaps it may be chategorized as an MBT or an LT or perhaps a new class entirely ("universal tank" or whatever).
That said, various prototypes have shown that the this thing´s protection levels can be increased by using add on modules. Frontal protection vs 120mm APFSDS looks not impossible in my opinion.
However I feel like a big issue is that, that cannon seems far to small to be a 125mm/120mm cannon. It might be a bad POV, but next gen MBT with a 105mm will not be able to penetrate newer tanks everyone else is fielding.
I heard the new tanks are using a new round—something like an ETC with a lot higher velocity and penetration. There were talks about a larger cannon from years back, but if they can just solve the penetration issue, then I don't see much of a need to go larger.
Ania here has a point because I´ve heard those rumors as well. Perhaps in a more traditional sense this may be a 105mm but with higher pressure (ala Russian 2A82 or German L55A1). But even if this is just a traditional 105mm, it can still perform its mission. Abrams had an 105mm originally after all. If the rationale behind upgunning is just about tank dueling, then actual combat experience shows that tank dueling is hardly common, more like an exeption to the rule. So the questions we should ask ourselves to figure out why PLA is willing to go down in caliber are these:
- How and where is this tank projected to be utilized?
- What are the threats and likely missions in the projected operational theatre?
And then after all these we can get into what kind of tank duels are expected. Theres also a possibility that PLA figured out a new type of ammunition to deal with tanks other than APFSDS.