The ZTZ96 (also known as Type 96 or Type 88C) is the second-generation main battle tank (MBT) in service with the PLA. The tank was developed from the Type 85-IIM/III series introduced in the 1990s for the export market. The PLA had received over 1,500 examples of the ZTZ96 by 2005. Production continued until 2005~06 when it was superseded by the ZTZ96G featuring improved fire-control and armour package. The ZTZ96G is believed to be approaching the ZTZ99 in terms of firepower, armour, and fire-control. A report by Jane’s Defence Weekly in 2006 suggested that Thailand may be interested in acquiring the Type 96G (or an improved model).
ZTZ96 main battle tanks in service with the PLA ground forces (Source: Chinese Internet)
Design
The hull and turret of the tank are protected by composite armour plating. Wheels and tracks are protected by rubber hull skirts. 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. There are six Type 84 smoke grenade launchers on each side of the turret. Additional smoke can be generated by injecting diesel fuel in to the engine's exhaust.
The tank has a conventional layout with a crew of three men. The driving compartment is located at the front; the turret is mounted in the middle and the engine compartment in the rear. The driver is seated left in the hull and forward of the turret and the gunner and tank commander occupy the turret. The tank commander is situated to the right of the main gun and the gunner sits on the left side. The tank commander is also responsible for operating the 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun mounted on turret roof of the turret. Tank crew is protected by a over-pressure collective NBC protection and a fully automatic fire/explosion suppression system.
The 41.5t tank is powered by a liquid-cooled 1,000hp diesel engine, providing a power to weight ratio of about 24.1hp/t. The engine can be replaced within 40 minutes in field conditions, and gives the tank a maximum road speed of 65km/h. Suspension is of the conventional torsion bar type and there are six rubber-tyred roadwheels on each side, with the drive sprocket at the rear.
The basic variant ZTZ96 main battle tank (Source: Chinese Internet)
ZTZ96G featuring arrow-shaped spaced add-on armour modules (Source: Chinese Internet)
ZTZ96G
The modified variant ZTZ96G was first revealed in 2006. This variant features arrow-shaped spaced add-on armour modules, which replaced the original vertically faced front armour on the basic variant ZTZ96. Two arrow-shaped spaced add-on armour modules are added to the front of the turret, and explosive reaction armour (ERA) plates are mounted on the front hull and the storage rack on the rear of the turret. The gunner's sight on the ZTZ96G is fitted with a thermal imaging system (TIS).
The export variant of the ZTZ96G also features a passive countermeasures system similar to the Russian Shtora-1, which is mounted on the Russian T-80 and T-90 series and the Ukrainian T-84. The two box-shape on either side of the turret are electro-optical jammers designed to jams the enemy's semiautomatic command to line of sight (SACLOS) antitank guided missiles, laser rangefinders and target designators.
Close up of the export variant ZTZ96G turret, which is fitted with a passive countermeasures suite similar to the Russian Shtora-1 (Source: Chinese Internet)
Armament
The main armament is a dual-way stabilised 125mm/48-calibre smoothbore gun with autoloader of Russian 2A46M design. By introducing the autoloader to reduce the crew to three men, more rounds are available for the higher rate of fire. The tank can carry 42 rounds, 22 of them stored in the carousel of the autoloader, and the gun can fire at 6~8 rounds per minute. Ammunition options for the main gun include APFSDS, HEAT, and HEAT-FRAG. The more recent BK-27 HEAT round offers a triple-shaped charge warhead and increased penetration against conventional armour and explosive reactive armour (ERA). The BK-29 round, with a hard penetrator in the nose is specially designed for use against reactive armour, and as an MP round has fragmentation effects.
The tank may also carry the Russian 9M119 Refleks (NATO codename: AT-11 Sniper) anti-tank guided missile system which is fired from the 125mm main gun. The range of the missile is 100m to 4,000m. The system is intended to engage tanks fitted with ERA as well as low-flying air targets such as helicopters, at a range of up to 5km. China has been producing the 9M119 missile locally under license since the late 1990s.
Auxiliary weapons include one 7.62mm coaxial machine gun, with a maximum fire-range of 1,800 m and a fire rate of 250 rounds/min. A Type 85 12.7mm/50-calibre anti-aircraft machine gun is mounted on the command cupola, with a maximum fire-range of 2,000m.
Observation and Fire-Control
Fire accuracy is attained by the ISFCS-212 image-stabilised fire-control system, which comprises a fully stabilised gunner sight with a night vision channel, a laser rangefinder (200~10,000m range), ballistic computer, wind sensor, gun mount slope sensor, turret movement sensor, and dual-way gun stabiliser. The system is also connected to the tank commander’s viewer, allowing him to overrides the gunner’s control handle.
The commander has two periscopes and a viewer (with image intensifier night vision) mounted on the commander copula. The night vision of the gunner’s sight is the imager intensifier type on the ZTZ96, and thermal imaging system (TIS) on the ZTZ96G. The first-generation Chinese indigenous TIS has a maximum detection range of 2,600m in daytime and 2,750m at night to a tank-size target. The more advanced second-generation TIS using staring infrared focal plane arrays has a maximum effective range of 7~9km and a detection range of 4,000m in severe weather condition.
PLA ZTZ96 main battle tank in the exercise (Source: Chinese Internet)
