Ал-Халид танкі: Пакистан мен Қытайдың бірлескен әзірлемесі

Pakistani main battle tank

The Al Khalid/VT 1A (—, literally "The Eternal Tank") is a main battle tank family developed jointly by Norinco of China and Heavy Industries Taxila of Pakistan. The tank is based on the Type 90 II tank. Around 310 Al Khalid MBTs had been produced by 2014. The tank has been exported to Bangladesh, Morocco and Myanmar by China. The VT 1A is also known as MBT 2000. The Bangladesh Army ordered 44 MBT 2000s from China in 2011. The Norinco made MBT 2000 is also used by the Royal Moroccan Army. It was trialled by the Peruvian Army for possible acquisition, but was not purchased due to financial problems. Operated by a crew of three and armed with a 125 mm smooth bore tank gun that is reloaded automatically, the tank uses a fire control system and night fighting equipment. Al Khalid is named after the 7th century Muslim commander Khalid bin al Walid (592–642 AD). The first production models entered service with the Pakistan Army in 2001. The country placed an order with Ukraine to further upgrade the tanks with a new engine.

The China's People's Liberation Army was concerned about the Soviet threat, and requested an improved main battle tank (MBT) to replace the old and obsolete Type 59 tank. Thus, in 1980, Norinco was formed and the Inner Mongolia First Machine Group Corporation was tasked with developing a series of new tanks. A joint development deal was signed with Pakistan in January 1990. Initial Chinese built prototypes were tested in Pakistan in August 1991. Pakistan completed its manufacturing plant at Taxila in 1992. Pakistan spent more than USD $20 million over the next eight years on the co development of a model suitable for its needs and on creating a capability to manufacture it locally. In light of high ambient temperatures and the fine sand or dust that would be encountered in operational areas such as the deserts of southern Pakistan, the development of high performance cooling and air filtering systems was emphasized during the planning stage of the project. Implementation of a hydro gas suspension system was considered but, after technical evaluation, it was found to be impractical due to various limitations such as problems with reliability and maintainability. Installation of the Renk 304 transmission was also considered but discarded. An early version was armed with a Chinese gun and fire control system, and had a German designed MTU 396 diesel engine which was built under licence in China. Another version was equipped with a more advanced Western digital fire control system and powered by a Perkins Condor diesel engine (as in the British Challenger) and SESM ESM500 automatic transmission (as in the French Leclerc). This version was considered too expensive, and under performed in the extreme heat of southern Pakistan. Finally, a version was tested with the compact Ukrainian 6TD 2 1,200 hp diesel engine. During the development period, Heavy Industries Taxila gained experience after building the Type 85 IIAP under Chinese licence and prepared to begin production of the Al Khalid tank in 1999. A pilot batch of fifteen tanks was inducted into the 31st Cavalry Regiment of Pakistan's Armoured Corps on 20 July 2001. Pakistan signed a contract with Ukraine's Malyshev Factory in May 2002 for the delivery of 315 KMDB 6TD 2 diesel engines over three years. An additional batch of Al Khalid tanks was delivered on 23 September 2004. Pakistan planned to build a total of 600 Al Khalid tanks for its armed forces. In December 2017, HIT officials told the Pakistan Senate that budgetary constraints had reduced the output of the tank to 18 per year on average. On July 28, 2020, the Pakistan Army inducted the first Al Khalid I main battle tank into its Armoured Corps Regiment. The handing over ceremony of the tank, which is an upgraded version of Al Khalid tank, was held at HIT.

Al Khalid was revealed on 17 July 1991, by the then Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, along with the then Pakistani Chief of Army Staff, Mirza Aslam Beg, in a ceremony held at the Heavy Rebuild Factory (HRF), Taxila. In his speech, the Prime Minister said that the completion of the project was a big step towards self reliance. The Army Chief said that for the first time in history, not only had technology been transferred to Pakistan, but the design was also made by Pakistani engineers themselves.

Al Khalid is designed with a 125 mm bore, 48 calibre long smoothbore, auto frettaged and chrome plated gun barrel which is manufactured from highly stiff electroslag remelting steel. The gun is then put under stringent quality control process to ensure standard barrel life of 1,100 rounds EFC; barrels that cannot pass this test are rejected. This gun provides very high internal chamber pressures for APFSDS, HEAT FS and guided missiles. The gun can also fire the following types of conventional ammunition: APFSDS, HEAT FS, and HE FS. The gun is a modified variant of both the ZPT 98 and KBA 3 series of 125 mm smooth bore gun for Al Khalid MBT which provided compatibility with Ukrainian ATGMs such as Kombat. The gun retains qualities of both Chinese and Ukrainians mated with indigenous design for better and accurate firepower on stationary and moving targets alike. The Gun launched, laser guided anti tank guided missiles can also be launched. Al Khalid also fires a Pakistani depleted uranium round, the Naiza 125 mm DU round which gives an armour penetration of 570 mm RHA at 2 km. It is equipped with a muzzle reference system and dual axis stabilisation system. The tank is also equipped with a 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun, a 12.7 mm remotely controlled externally mounted air defence machine gun that can be aimed and fired from within the tank, and 16 smoke grenade launchers(12 Smoke, 4HE). The gunner is provided with a dual magnification day sight and the commander with a panoramic sight for all around independent surveillance. Both sights are dual axis image stabilised and have independent laser range finders. The tank has hunter killer capability, giving the commander the ability to acquire new targets independently while the gunner is engaging another target. The automatic target tracking system is designed to work when tank and target are both moving. Night vision for the gunner and commander is achieved through a dual magnification thermal imaging sight. Both sights are integrated with the fire control system. Previously, HIT imported 125 mm gun barrel blanks from France for the two tanks which would then be machined in Pakistan by HIT. The first Pakistani gun barrel blank was produced at Heavy Mechanical Complex (HMC) in a joint project involving HIT, People's Steel Mills Limited (PSML) and other defence related organisations.

The production model Al Khalid is powered by a 6TD 2 liquid cooled diesel engine, designed by the Kharkiv Morozov Design Bureau (KMDB) of Ukraine. The 6TD 2 is a supercharged 6 cylinder engine delivering The 2 stroke design, with the pistons arranged horizontally in an opposed piston configuration, makes the engine very compact and therefore more suitable for being fitted into relatively small vehicles such as the Al Khalid MBT. The Al Khalid is fairly lightweight compared to the Western tanks, weighing 46 tonnes compared to the 60 tonne M1 Abrams and Leopard 2. A power to weight ratio of 26.66 hp/tonne gives acceleration from 0 to 32 km/h (0 to 20 mph) in 10 seconds and a maximum speed of 72 km/h, the speed and agility also helping to improve survivability.

Type 90 IIA – An export model offered to Pakistan. It was powered by French V series diesel engine, developing 1 500 hp. Cancelled after France joined the international arms embargo on Pakistan after the Pakistan's 1998 nuclear tests. but later promising to deliver 110 new tank engines. Since the political instability, Ukraine was facing issues in making deliveries of equipment.

– 44 MBT 2000s in service. – 150 VT 1As order placed in 2010. 54 received in 2011, the rest was cancelled. – 180+VT 1As in service. receive between 2009 to 2013
– 300 Al Khalid and 110+ Al Khalid I in service as of 2024.

In April 2002, it was reported that Malaysia was considering purchasing the Al Khalid after evaluation by Malaysian military personnel, but Malaysia eventually backed out without stating any reasons. The Peruvian government had expressed interest in purchasing 80–120 units to complement the fleet of Soviet T 55 tanks in service with the Peruvian Army. However the deal fell through partly due to the unauthorised export of the Ukrainian engine. The Saudi Arabian Army began conducting trials of the Al Khalid's desert performance in April 2006, after expressing interest in purchasing a batch of the tanks 2 years earlier. No order for the tank was placed later. – In May 2008, Lt. Gen Sarath Fonseka of the Sri Lanka Army held talks with his Pakistan Army counterparts regarding the sale of military equipment, weapons and ammunition. The supply of 22 Al Khalid MBTs to the Sri Lanka Army was reportedly finalised during these talks in a deal worth over US$100 million. The order was later cancelled by Sri Lanka's Defence Secretary.