A Model of China-Pakistan Cooperation! Khalid Tanks have been Upgraded, Replaced with Heavy Dual Anti-Armor, Which Will Not be Easy to Penetrate

Recently, Pakistan has exhibited a number of upgraded MBT variants, including the upgraded version of the Super Type 59 Al Zarar, the upgraded version of the 85-IIAP MBT 85UG and the upgraded version of the Khalid MBT.  Among them, the Khalid MBT is a Pakistani special production type of our 90-II/MBT-2000 MBT, since it was equipped to the Pakistani army around 2000, it has been the strongest MBT, after the arrival of the recently purchased VT-4 MBT, the Khalid MBT is also scheduled to be refitted and upgraded, and the most notable feature is the use of dual anti-wedge armor similar to the Type 99 and VT-4 main battle tanks, which can defend against both the tilt of armor-piercing shells and the impact of armor-breaking warheads (including anti-tank missiles and anti-tank rockets).

Photo: Senior Pakistani Army officials view the modified Khalid main battle tank with a five pairs wheeled Al Zarar main battle tank in the rear.

If the JF-17（Joint Fighter-17 Thunder）and K-8 (Karakorum Jet trainer) are models of China-Pakistan aviation cooperation, then the “Khalid” main battle tank is definitely a model of China-Pakistan cooperation in ground equipment.

Different from the 85-IIAP MBT purchased earlier and the VT-4 MBT purchased recently, Khalid MBT can be said to be jointly developed by China and Pakistan, just like the JF-17 fighter Jet, which incorporates a lot of Pakistan's technical strength. Although 85-IIAP and VT-4 also take into account some needs of Pakistan, but in general they are made in China.

Photo: The latest VT4 main battle tank of the Pakistan Army, which is the "Joker Bomb" from China.

The “Khalid” main battle tank, also known as MBT2000, was jointly developed by Pakistan and China North Industries Corporation after an agreement was signed in 1988.  The agreement includes improvements to the Type 59 MBT in service and domestic production of the 69-IIMP, 85-IIAP and “Khalid” MBT series in Pakistan.

MBT-2000 was originally code-named 90-II main battle tank.  Interestingly, at that time, Chinese export tank models used Roman numerals as tail code, such as 69-II, 80-II, 85-II and 90-II, while private tanks used Arabic numerals as tail code.  For example, 59-1, 59-2, 59-2A, 69-1, 69-3 (79), etc. Later, English letters were adopted as the tail code, such as 88A, 88B, 88C (96A), 96B, 99A, etc.

 Photo: Early years the original prototype 90-II.  This is the ancestor of the “Khalid” tank.

 Photo: Tank 90-II with explosive reactive armor.

90-II was the most advanced foreign trade tank in our country at that time.  During the development of the “Khalid” main battle tank, China and Pakistan have adopted  the hull, gun and improved turret design of the 90-II MBT, and replaced the Ukrainian 6TD-2 with the 895 kW (1200 HP) opposable two-stroke engine and the power compartment of the two-sided planetary transmission system, which is comparable to the T-80UD MBT purchased from Ukraine and the use of the same type of engine reduces the logistical strain because the reliable engine has enabled the tank to successfully adapt to the high temperatures of Pakistan, where earlier indigenous engines had repeatedly suffered problems during test runs.  In addition, a small number of electronic components were purchased from Britain, France, Germany and other countries to improve the performance of the tank's fire control system.  Finally, the main battle tank was finalized and named "Khalid" Main Battle Tank.  The foreign trade code was changed to MBT-2000 according to the new nomenclature, which means the main battle tank for the year 2000.

Photo: 85-IIAP (far) and 90-II (close) tested in Pakistan.  Note that the roadwheels of the 90-II tank near are different from those of the 85-IIAP.

Unlike the 85-IIAP, which is a super upgraded based on the second-generation main battle tank, the MBT-2000 is a standard third-generation main battle tank.  The first experimental main battle tanks were completed by the Taxila Arsenal in 1992.  Subsequent improvement and production preparations are also being carried out in an orderly manner.  In 2002, the mass-produced "Khalid" main battle tank began to be fielding scheduled in the Pakistani Army, by 2007, a total of 500 vehicles will be produced and become the main battle equipment of the Pakistani Army in the 21st century.

In appearance, the "Khalid" main battle tank continues the low profile of the 85-IIAP main battle tank, the welded turret has a better bulletproof profile, allowing for flexible external reactive armour to further enhance protection.  The gun is a 125mm smoothbore gun with an accurate firing range of more than 2,500 metres and is capable of penetrating all armoured tank vehicles of the Indian Army.

Photo: “Khalid” Main Battle Tank equipped by Pakistan Army.

Later, Pakistan upgraded the Khalid main battle tank, it is mainly equipped with explosive reactive armour, using the Chinese FY-2 dual explosive reactive armour, which was advanced in the early 2000s and featured a wedge-shaped shape with two plates joined at the front of the turret.  But compared to the fusion wedge-shaped armor of our 96A and 99A, it is more primitive, rather like the turret armor of the T-90.

Interestingly, with reference to the shape of "Khalid", China launched the upgraded version of MBT-2000.  At this time, the naming standard of foreign trade tanks was changed again, MBT-2000 was called VT-1 tank, 85-IIM/96-type tank was called VT-2, and a series of magic changes of Type 59 tank was called VT-3, as the next generation of foreign trade main battle tank, MBT-3000 was named as the familiar VT-4, and the new generation of foreign trade light tank was named VT-5.  Among them, the VT-2 tank, a direct descendant of the MBT-2000, has been exported to many countries and is gaining momentum.

Photo: All subsequent VT-2s were exported with the modified styling of the Khalid tank, note its similar turret armor to the T-90A.

The “Khalid” main battle tank, which has been in service in Pakistan in recent years, has been deployed as its main force in the hot desert.  In the face of India's increasing anti-tank capability, the “Khalid” main battle tank also needs to be further upgraded.

So far, the new “Khalid” main battle tank is apparently a copy of the VT-4 main battle tank armor design, with the heavier FY-4 dual anti-explosive reactive armor in the turret and hull.  The dimensions announced at the Zhuhai Airshow are 360 mm long, 200 mm wide and 200 mm high, with the full weight of the single block is 15kg.  The previous FY-2 was a more traditional explosive reactive armor, which was mainly armor-penetrator resistant, but with a certain ability to prevent armor-piercing.  The structure of traditional explosive reactive armor is sandwich biscuit style, in which a piece of high-strength insensitive mixed explosive with plasticizer added inside the iron box, mainly rely on the detonation high pressure formed when the explosive explodes and the flying movement of the front and back metal plates of the iron box to affect the core of the armor-piercing projectile and the jet of the armor-piercing projectile.

Photo: FY-2 dual anti-armour on Pakistan's “Khalid” main battle tank, relatively thin.

Photo: FY-4 dual anti-armour on VT-4 MBT exported to Pakistan, visible thickness is much thicker than FY-2.

FY-4 is a new type of dual explosion-proof reaction armor, which adds a new structure of sabotaging armor-piercing projectile core and armor-piercing projectile ejection flow inside the sandwich, when penetrating anti-armor, the core of armor-piercing projectile and the jet of armor-piercing projectile will be continuously impacted by the detonation high pressure and cut by the metal plate, and their penetrating energy will be greatly weakened, this type of construction is also well suited to munitions that use tandem armor breaking warheads.

According to a display panel at the ZhuHai Airshow, FY-4 armor can reduce the penetration of armor-piercing projectiles by 30% and armor-breaking projectiles by 70%.  In the “Military Documentary” program of CCTV7, there was an experiment of using 125mm armor-breaking shells to attack the Type 59 tank equipped with FY-4 armor, which proved that FY-4 had very strong anti-penetration ability and could basically effectively protect the armor-breaking munitions with penetration depth of no more than 1000mm.

This kind of heavy armor can be seen on the "Khalid" main battle tank on exhibited this time, and the turret armor shape is more like the VT-4, the overall defensive effect will be greatly improved, and it will have a better tactical advantage against Indian tanks which using the monkey model armor piercing projectiles.

Photo: The improved “Khalid” main battle tank has the new FY-4 dual anti-armor, and the turret front has a more bullet-proof effect wedge-shaped armor layout