99A has been behind?When can China's fourth -generation tank come out?

"Military Bill Sub -Point" Author: Zi Dian

Just last month, the German Rhein Metal company publicly demonstrated the KF-51 "Black Panther" main battle tank. This is also the only fourth-generation main battle tank after T-14 "Amata". For the long-term "Yitan dead water" tank, the appearance of the KF-51 is undoubtedly shining. With the continuation of Russia and Ukraine's conflict, European countries have begun to consider reorganization, and important land war weapons such as tanks have also become the focus of development.

▲ KF-51 "Black Panther" main battle tank

Taking Poland as an example, Poland not only upgraded a large number of domestic Leopard 2 early models to Leopard 2PL, but also purchased the M1A2 tank from the United States. But these advanced tanks are only "transitions". Poland really wants to be equipped with large -scale equipment to introduce the K2PL tanks of South Korea. Not only that, Norway is also planning to purchase new tanks, the bidders include Leopard 2A7 and K2NO.

▲ K2, which is looking down on domestic netizens at that time, has now available for the same capital as Leopard 2A7.

In our army, the situation is very different. Although the old 59 tank has basically withdrawn from active service and the 15 -type light tank has begun to be installed, it is just that. 99A not only did not show signs, but even obvious improvements. Today, the tanks seem to be ignored today, as our weapons and equipment are updated quickly.

As the most powerful main battle tank in China, facing the fourth-generation tanks of M1A2C, Leopard 2A7, K2PL, T-90M, and even T-14, KF-51, what is the performance of 99A? Has it really behind?

How did 99A born

Military fans familiar with the development of domestic tanks must know that the development of Chinese tanks has experienced a period of extremely difficult period. Due to the restrictions on the domestic economic level, China had no money to purchase tanks at that time. Type 59 tanks have long occupied our army's main position, while more advanced 69, 79, 80, 88, 90, etc., either can only equip our army or only export.

▲ For a long time, domestic new tanks can only be used to export

But even these "advanced" tanks are just relatively 59. Don't say that it is a Western Leopard 2 and M1 tanks. Even the T-72, which is scoffed by the military fans today, is also the object of our army looking up at that time. Over time entering the 21st century, the Chinese army's weapons and equipment have urgently need to be replaced, and tanks cannot be dragged.

▲ The last "pot lid head" type 88 is only a small amount of equipment. In this context, in 1989, the domestic third-generation main battle tank-WZ123 project was officially developed, but due to the technical level of the time, the WZ123 was separated again. Two sub -models: WZ123A and WZ123B. Among them, WZ123A is a big change model of WZ123, and WZ123B is a small repairs and small supplements to WZ123 to improve performance.

▲ If you know this tank, leave a message in the comment area, you must know that the senior old army is fascinated.

These two models, we are now generally called 99A and 99 -yes, the 99A solution is even before 99, and today's 99 is made after the WZ123 cannot meet the performance requirements.

What are the disadvantages of 99A?

As a kind of performance indicators from the late 1980s to the early 1990s, the tanks planned to serve in the first ten years of the 21st century, the design of 99A has actually received many restrictions. Although it was not basically improved until around 2014, almost all jobs were to achieve indicators determined more than 20 years ago.

▲ The 99A project began very early due to the original design indicators. The 99A battle was only 55 tons. Compared with those Western tanks with more than 60 tons or even 70 tons, the mobility of 99A has certain advantages, but in terms of protection performance Slightly insufficient. In terms of firepower, the requirements of the 96 -type tank universal ammunition have greatly limited the firepower of 99A. In the face of the birth of a foreign -advanced foreign main battle tank with 700 and 800 mm, 99A is difficult to reach the front. Its breakdown.

▲ Even the "three -phase bomb" is the equipment more than ten years ago

For the performance of 99A, I believe that many netizens will put forward completely different opinions, such as the so -called "one meter sunlight". But what military martial arts wants to say is that any problem must be considered the most basic physics common sense. If the 99A can really increase the armor -piercing and protective capabilities by nearly half compared with the 99 -type type 99, unless it is a fairy or the guidance of aliens.

▲ The development of weapons and equipment cannot break through the common sense of physical knowledge. If the 99A "China's most advanced tank" halo, this tank designed to catch up with T-72B and T-80 undoubtedly completes its own task. But the procrastination of the 99 -type and 99A itself has made the environment facing this tank is very different -of course, we can not demand Chinese tank engineers. Tanks, it is very difficult.

▲ K2NO tank is considered a "perfect three -generation tank"

Compared with the "assembly" K2, it is already reborn

On the one hand, the development speed of foreign tanks is also not slow. Naturally, mainstream powers such as the United States and Germany need not say. Russia's thin camel is larger than the horse. Even Japan and South Korea have gradually mastered the more advanced tank technology. It is difficult to meet the actual needs. Not to mention comparing the fourth -generation tank, compared with advanced third -generation tanks, 99A also has a certain gap. ▲ Holding the heritage of the Soviet Union, the tank industry in Russia, and on the other hand, the Military Military bacteria must be pointed out, no matter how good the relationship between China and the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union and China and Russia are now, this north is strong. The neighbors are always one of the main imaginary enemies of the Chinese army, and China's tank design must also consider resisting Russia's offense. However, there is always a priority and urgency. In today's close relationship between China and Russia, there is a certain necessity to develop an advanced tank, but it is not urgent.

Is there still room for improvement in 99A?

If you use the current technology to transform 99A on a large scale, can it improve the performance of 99A? Military bacteria think: Yes, but not necessary.

▲ Even the 105 guns have been able to reach the level of or even exceed 125 guns. At present, the biggest problem of 99A is that the performance of the 125mm smoothbore gun is close to the limit. Of course, this is not because of the problem of the 125 gun itself, but the size limit of the automatic loading machine. In the same conditions, the longer the length of the armor-piercing bullet, the stronger the power of armor-piercing, but taking the "three phase bombs" DTC10-125 as an example, the size of this armor-piercing bullet is already 99 and 96 series. Limit, no matter how long the armor -piercing bombs cannot be installed in the automatic loader.

▲ VT-4 does not need to consider the size of the bomb machine size

Under such circumstances, investing a lot of resources to improve the three phase bombs. Of course, it can enhance the power of armor -piercing, but what about the effect? Even if there is a little trivial improvement, in the face of those tanks with more than 800 or even 900 mm, they still can't wear it. The laws of physics have limited the firepower of the 99 series tanks, and there is almost no room for development. If you want to modify all the tanks of the active duty to make it a new type of armor -piercing bomb that can launch, it is also a very cost -effective account in cost.

▲ The "ZTZ-99B" tank in the game "Armored War"

Therefore, in the future, the improvement of 99A will only increase some subsystems, such as active defense systems, and will not be a large -scale transformation. For the 99 series tanks, their historical mission is nearing completion.

What tanks will there be in China in the future?

Will China develop the fourth -generation tank? What does China's future tank look like? From the perspective of military martial arts, in the next ten or even five years, China's own fourth -generation main battle tank will definitely meet you.

▲ On June 28, the U.S. Army announced the determination of a new generation of light tank models. It is expected to receive 26 units at the end of next year, with a total of 504 vehicles.

▲ The fourth-generation tank "ZTZ-20" in the game "Armored War"

Whether it is a 99A tank, a 15-type tank, or a foreign trade VT-4/VT-5, these tanks are more or less deficiencies, but they are all the only ways of weapons and equipment research and development. In continuous use and improvement, the experience of Chinese tank engineers has accumulated extremely valuable. The fourth -generation tank in the future will make up for the pumpions of the past and become the majority of the advantages.

▲ Foreign trade tanks play an important role in the development of Chinese tanks

Due to the discovery of the 125 guns into bottlenecks, the domestic fourth -generation main battle tank may not continue to use this price. Instead, it is possible to refer to the western tank and switch to the 120 mm caliber. However, it is also a possible choice to continue to develop 125 guns and combine the new automatic loading machine. The new high -performance armor -piercing bomb will also become the core of the fourth -generation tank.

▲ "Leclair" test vehicle installed with 140mm tank guns

For the fourth -generation tank, many countries have proposed a plan to switch to large -caliber artillery. Germany's KF-51 uses a 130mm gun. Russia's T-14 has a 152 gun plan. It has also proposed the development of 130 mm and 140 mm tank guns in China. Such a large -caliber artillery can indeed greatly enhance the power of tanks.

▲ The fourth -generation tank of the Soviet Union "195 Project" is equipped with a 152mm main gun

However, a problem brought by the large -caliber artillery is that the significant increase in the size of the shells will obviously affect the load of the tank. There are not many loads of modern main battle tanks. If large -caliber shells are replaced, the load capacity will obviously decrease. From the perspective of military martial arts, more than 130 mm large -caliber main guns may not necessarily improve the combat performance of tanks.

▲ Just a large -diameter tank, not fresh

However, the fourth -generation tank with a modular design has excellent generalability. A large amount of large -caliber version that is slightly improved on the basic model tank will not have a significant impact on the logistics of the army. Therefore, these large -caliber tanks may have a certain existence in the future, but it is difficult to replace the traditional caliber tank.

In addition to leading the third -generation tanks in the firepower, protection, and maneuverability, the information level of the fourth -generation tank will also be significantly improved, becoming a key node in the future war -for China, this "soft power" The technical difficulty may be the lowest.

▲ Even if it is 59, it can be informationized. Of course, as the military martial arts said before, tanks are not the key equipment for my country's development in a short time.To deal with the current security threat, 99A has been "enough".But any weapon has its own life cycle, and the replacement of 99A is inevitable.The development of a fourth -generation tank is undoubtedly the most cost -effective and the most effective solution.Perhaps the days when we met with domestic new tanks are really not far away.

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