Selon
le rapport du Sipri, la Chine serait donc devenue le deuxième producteur
mondial d'armement. Parmi les groupes industriels, objets de cette étude figure
le groupe Norinco fabricant du MBT 3000 VT-4 49 exemplaires ont été livrés à la
Thaïlande en 2016 et 2017. Le constructeur de ce char, NORINCO, "avec
des ventes estimées à 17,2 milliards de dollars, prendrait la 8e place, ce qui
en ferait le plus grand producteur mondial de systèmes terrestres."
Petit
focus (en anglais) sur ce char dont une maquette à l'échelle fut présentée en
2012 à Eurosatory ; en 2014, il fut présenté durant le "NORINCO Armour
Day" tandis que la même année une version avancée fut présentée au
salon "China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition"
à Zhuhai, en Chine.
MBT-3000 / VT-4
The MBT-3000 (also known as the VT-4) is the latest 3rd-generation main
battle tank (MBT) introduced by China Northern Industries Group Corporation
(CNGC, or NORINCO) for the export market. It is an upgraded variant of the
MBT-2000 (VT-1). A small number of the tank was exported to Thailand in 2017.
·
PLA designation: None
·
Export designations: MBT-3000, VT-4
·
Type: Main Battle tank
·
Designer: NORINCO North Vehicle Research Institute (201 Institute)
·
Manufacturer: NORINCO Inner Mongolia First Machinery Factory Factory
·
Crew: Three
·
Operators: Thailand (28, with 10 more on order)
BACKGROUND
The MBT-3000 began development in 2009 as an upgraded variant of the
MBT-2000, which was also co-produced in Pakistan under license as the
Al-Khalid. A key improvement over the MBT-2000 was the introduction of an
indigenous diesel engine replacing the Ukrainian-made 6TD-2. In addition, the
MBT-3000 may have been incorporated with technologies originally developed for
the ZTZ-99A, including its armour, drive train, and mission systems.
The MBT-3000 was first unveiled during the 2012 Eurosatory defence
exhibition, and was demonstrated during the 2014 NORINCO Armour Day. During the
2014 China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition (Zhuhai Air Show),
the tank was marketed by NORINCO under the designation VT-4.
FOREIGN ORDERS
The Royal Thai Army ordered 28 examples of the VT-4 in 2015 and took
delivery of these tanks in October 2017. A further order of 10 examples was
placed in 2017, and the total number of purchase reached 49 in 2019.
DESIGN
Arrangement
The MBT-3000/VT-4 is operated by a three-man crew. The driver is seated
left in the hull and forward of the turret. The tank commander sits on the
right side of the main gun, and is also responsible for operating the 12.7-mm
anti-aircraft machine gun (AAMG) mounted on his hatch cupola. The gunner sits
on the left side of the main gun.
The tank has a conventional layout, with the driving compartment located
at the front, the turret and crew compartment in the middle, and the engine
compartment in the rear. The tank has Western-style welded turret and hull, but
its 125-mm smoothbore gun with autoloader and the three-man crew shows heavy
Russian influence.
The drivetrain consists of six rubber-tyred road wheels, three return
rollers, and a sprocket at the rear on each side. The tracks and wheels are
protected by six panels of thick rubber side skirts. External storage for fuel
and equipment are provided by encased compartments on the funders, which have
been blended into the upper hull. Two headlights are located on the front of
the hull. Two external fuel tanks can be carried on the back of the vehicle.
PROTECTION
T
The hull and turret are protected by composite armour plating. The
frontal arc of the turret is fitted with arrow-shaped spaced armour modules,
similar to those on the Leopard 2A5. The rear half of the turret is surrounded
by storage racks, which not only offer extra places for the crew to store their
equipment but also provide additional protections against
HEAT projectiles.
The tank has the option to be fitted with the indigenous FY series ERA
modules on the front of the hull and the turret’s rear storage racks. The ERA
is said to be capable of defeating the new-generation tandem-warhead anti-tank
guided missiles.
The crew compartment is fitted with a collective over-pressure NBC
protection system, automatic fire-supressing system, and air-conditioning. A
laser warning receiver (LWR) is mounted on the roof of the turret. There is a
5-barrelled smoke grenade launcher on either side of the turret, under the
storage racks near the rear of the turret. Additional smoke can be generated by
injecting diesel fuel in to the engine’s exhaust.
ACTIVE PROTECTION SYSTEM
 |
The tank can be fitted with the NORINCO GL-5 active protection system
(APS), which is designed to intercept and destroy incoming anti-tank guided
missiles and rocket-propelled grenades. The system employs 4 radar antennas
installed at the top of the tank’s turret to provide a 360° field of view to a
maximum range of 100 m and up to 20° elevation angle. Once an incoming missile
or rocket is detected, the system automatically calculates the firing
parameters and launches two projectiles, which generate shotgun-like blasts to
destroy the incoming threat at a distance of about 10 m from the tank.
ARMAMENT
The main armament is a dual-way stabilized ZPT-98 125 mm/50-calibre
smoothbore gun with autoloader, which is modeled after the Russian 2A46 but
with increased chamber pressure for better performance. The gun is fitted with
a fume extractor and thermal sleeve, and can be triggered by either electronic
or manual control. Loading is mechanical with ammunition rounds carried inside
the turret and crew compartment. The gun can fire about 8 rounds per minute
using autoloader and 1 to 2 rounds per minute with manual loading.
 |
| Autoloader |
The tank gun fires separate-loading rounds, with the projectile and its
semi-combustible propellant case stored separately, and then assembled by the
autoloader before firing. Ammunitions include armour piercing fin stabilized
discarding sabot (APFSDS), high explosive anti-tank (HEAT), and high explosive
fragmentation (HE-FRAG).
 |
| Missile 9K119 Refleks (AT-11 Sniper) |
The primary kinetic energy armour-piercing ammunition is the indigenous
APFSDS round with a 25:1 length/caliber heavy tungsten alloy penetrator. The
round has a muzzle velocity of 1,780 m/s and is capable of penetrating 700 mm
steel armour at a distance of 2,000 m. A depleted uranium (DU) APFSDS
 |
| 125mm rounds (APDSFS and HEAT) |
round (30:1 length/calibre) is said to have also been developed, which
can penetrate 1,000 mm of steel armour at a distance of 2,000 m.
Like its Russian counterpart, the ZPT-98 gun can also fire the 9M119
Refleks (NATO codename: AT-11 ‘Sniper’) anti-tank guided missile (or its
Chinese copy). The missile uses a semi-automatic laser beam-riding guidance,
and has an effective range of 100 m to 4,000 m. The missile system is intended
to engage armoured vehicles as well as low-flying helicopters, at a range of up
to 5 km. Four missile rounds are carried inside the vehicle.
Auxiliary weapons include one 7.62-mm coaxial machine gun, and a
remotely-operated 12.7-mm/50-calibre anti-aircraft machine gun (AAMG) mounted
on the commander’s hatch cupola. This was the first time that a Chinese-made
MBT is equipped with a remote weapon station replacing the conventional
manually-operated AAMG.
FIRE CONTROL AND OBSERVATION
 |
| Gunner station |
 |
| Driver Station |
The ZTZ-99 has a computerized fire-control system which can be used to
fire both conventional ammunitions and the semi-active laser-guidance 9M119
missile. Dual-axis stabilization on both the main gun and the gunner’s sight
ensures effective firing on the move.
Commander Station
|
The driver is equipped with three observation periscopes, and the central
periscope can be replaced by an image intensifying periscope (effective range
200 m) for night vision. The gunner has a roof-mounted, dual-axis stabilized
viewer incorporating a day channel, a thermal imaging system (TIS) night
vision, and a laser rangefinder. The night vision employs the cooled detector
thermal imaging system (TIS).
The commander’s station is equipped with six periscopes to provide all
round 360° view. A commander panoramic viewer is mounted on the turret roof in
front of the commander’s hatch copula, providing an independent, dual-axis stabilized,
day/night vision with a 360° view, incorporated with a laser rangefinder. This
arrangement allows the commander to search and engage targets directly,
enabling the ‘hunter-killer’ capability. A digital communications system is also installed in the vehicle to
provide the commander with communication and control functions.
PROPULSION
The MBT-3000/VT-4 is equipped with a Chinese indigenous liquid-cooled,
turbo-charged, 90º V-block, 12-cylinder diesel engine, producing a maximum
output of 1,200 to 1,300 hp. Like the ZTZ-99A, the powerpack of the tank adopts
a modular design and can be removed and replaced in one hour in the field.
The engine has been mated with a hydro-mechanical drive system, automatic
transmission, a steering wheel control, and torsion bar suspension systems to
provide increased mobility performance. The tank can attain a maximum speed of
70 km/h on road and 50 km/h in off-road conditions, with a maximum range of 500
km. It can climb gradients of 30% and vertical obstacles of 1,2 m.
SPECIFICATIONS
Crew: 3
Length (m): N/A
Height (m): N/A
Width (m): N/A
Combat weight (t): 52
Engine: Chinese diesel,
liquid-cooled turbo-charged 90º V12, producing 1,200 to 1,300 hp
Power-weight ratio (hp/t):
23.1 to 25.0
Transmission: Hydro-mechanic
with automatic planetary gear box
Track: Metallic, with
removable rubber pads and rubber-tyred road wheels
Suspension: Torsion bar with
hydraulic shock absorbers
Cruising range (km): 500
Maximum road speed (km/h):
70 (road); 50 (off-road)
Fording depth (m): N/A
Main armament: ZPT-98 125
mm/50-calibre smoothbore gun with autoloader and thermal sleeve
Rate of fire (rounds/min): 6
Gun elevation/depression (°): N/A
Auxiliary weapon: Coaxial 7.62-mm
machine gun; remotely-operated 12.7-mm anti-aircraft machine gun; 2x 5-barrel
smoke grenade launcher
Fire-control: Dual-way
stabilised with laser rangefinder, onboard computer, and wind sensor input
Night vision: Cooled-detector
thermal imaging system
Radio: Receive/transmit, telephone
NBC protection: Collective, over-pressure
Fire suppression: Automatic
Air conditioning: Yes