90-II (3rd Prototype)

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R&D history

Spoiler

China and Pakistan officially signed the military trade contract for the 85-IIAP and also concluded a contract on helping Pakistan develop its third-generation main battle tank. Pakistan has made demands on Chinese designers, such as the technologies of automatic transmission and steering wheel control. Since China had previously manufactured the WZ1226 tank prototype and initially developed the automatic transmission technology and steering wheel control during the “784 Campaign”,The R&D process is not too loss. Additionally, China could purchase mature off-the-shelf products from European countries for use. Thus, in 1985, China imported the German LSG3000 automatic transmission and its matching transmission system, along with the German MTU331TC41 diesel engine. These were successively installed on the chassis of the WZ1224 tank prototype and the prototype chassis of the Type 80 tank, and were given the designations “BK1850” and “BK1851”. As the two test vehicles were in good condition, China decided to import another modified LSG3000 transmission and install it for testing. Subsequently, this test tank was named BK1871 and also served as the principle prototype of the 90-II tank. However, due to the deterioration of relations between the two countries, the plan to use the German power unit for the 90-II tank was cancelled and other available options were sought. The engineering code for the 90-II tank was then named BW123, and the main proposal was the third design and third prototype of the 90-II tank, with the engineering code BW123F4.

Introduce:

Spoiler

Its main weapons were a 125mm tank gun, a 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun, and a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun, with 39 spare rounds, using the electro-mechanical Carousel Autoloader, The engine uses the CV12-1200TCA diesel engine from the British Perkins Company, the maximum horsepower of the engine is 1200HP, and adopts the ESM500 integrated transmission system from France, In 1979, China and the British company Rolls-Royce (R.R) agreed to exchange a Type 59 tank for a CV12 engine and TN12 transmission. Transportation began in 1980. In early 1981, the British side claimed that the CV12 engine and TN12 transmission had sunk to the seabed due to an accident. Subsequently, China obtained the CV12 engine through alternative channels.In terms of armor protection, it employs composite armor meeting the Phase II Targets (China’s second-phase technical specifications for composite armor), the same type used in the MBT2000, ZTZ96, and ZTZ99 tanks. This Phase II Targets composite armor served as the primary armor system for China’s third-generation tanks. Large-scale armor plate production for this system was completed in July 1992, and it passed its design certification tests on July 20, 1992. From 1993 to 1996, it was progressively integrated into the Type 90II tanks. By 1995, this composite armor was specifically applied to the front upper hull armor of tanks. Based on the timeline, the Type 90II P3 likely utilized this armor on both the turret and the front upper hull armor. Additionally, the tank is outfitted with FY2 explosive reactive armor (ERA). The first FY2 finished product was manufactured in 1989, is a dual-threat protection ERA (effective against both kinetic energy and chemical energy munitions). In-game mechanics model it as capable of resisting 120mm kinetic energy (KE) rounds.

(The defensive capabilities provided by FY2)

(FY2)
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(CV12)


(China’s first purchase of a CV12 engine sank due to a shipwreck)

Parameters:

Spoiler

Country of origin: China
Number of members: 3
Tank weight: 48t
Main weapon: 125mm smoothbore gun X1
Secondary weapon :12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun X1
7.62mm coaxial machine gun X1
Spare shells: 39
Engine model: UK CV12-1200TCA
Maximum engine horsepower: 1200hp
Transmission model: French ESM500
Body length: 7m
Maximum tank length: 10.34m
Body width: 3.4m
Body height: 2m
Tank maximum climbing Angle: 60°
Tank across trench width: 3m
Height of tank over vertical wall: 0.85m

Photo:

Spoiler

IMG_0525


.jpeg)

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IMG_0703

90-II(Model 3) without explosive reactive armor

IMG_0704

IMG_0705

Source of information:

Spoiler

Sina Visitor System

【坦克风采】中国90-II型坦克详解

中国90-2式/MBT2000主战坦克_TYPE 90-II/MBT2000 MAIN BATTLE TANK_GlobalMil-环球防务网

www.wikiwand.com

https://baike.baidu.com/item/90-Ⅱ式主战坦克/22458268

5 Likes

China needs more interesting tanks, and this would be great! +1

2 Likes

+1
Hell yeah
As a Chinese(and also as a chinese main) would love more chinese tanks

+1

1 Like

giphy_s

+1 for another Type 90 that’s not actually Japanese this time.

7 Likes

isnt this the 2nd prototype?

The P2 had a Perkins Condor 1,200 horsepower diesel engine (used in the successful British Challenger MBT series), a French SESM ESM500 (ala the Le Clerc MBT) and western-based fire-control system.

also this pic is of a different turret

The information I gathered from Chinese internet sources indicates that Prototype No. 3 is equipped with a CV12 engine and ESM500 transmission, while Prototype No. 2 uses a 96DZ engine and LSG3000 transmission. The Ukrainian powerpack configuration was adopted for Prototype No. 4. Regarding the Type 90II’s second prototype using CV12+ESM500, I’ve only encountered this claim on Reddit.

1 Like

The photos of the BK1871 and the Type 90-II Prototype No. 2 circulating on the Chinese internet both feature the LSG3000 transmission, resulting in similar exhaust port characteristics. The primary distinction lies in the design of the side skirt armor.


1 Like

thats strange… from my own sources
P1 had a German MTU 396 engine with an LSG-3000 transmission with a 125mm gun
P2 had a British Perkins Condor engine of the challenger 2
P3 had a Ukrainian 6TD-II engine
while P4 was supposed to have a 120mm NATO gun but was never made

ill link the sources below in a while

  • Jane’s A&A Upgrades 2002

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(Janes Armour and Artillery 2002 also repeats the same)

After a lot of research ive come to the conclusion that if Janes is not to be trusted, then the sheer amount of sources of either of the two variations, demands, that for a factual conclusion to be reached, i would have to communicate directly with HIT officials or the relevant members of the AK or Type-90II development team.

@NCC105
full sentence

1 Like

Any update?

I collected two main opinions and discussed them on the Chinese Internet.
one
The first statement describes the power configuration of the 90II No. 1 vehicle as 1150 horsepower 96D (MTU8V396) + LSG3000.
No. 2 vehicle is 96DZ + LSG3000.
No. 3 vehicle is British CV12 + French ESM500.
No. 4 vehicle adopts the power configuration from Ukraine.
two
The second statement describes the power configuration of the 90II No. 1 vehicle as a domestic 96DZ 1200-horsepower engine (MTU396) + LSG3000.
No. 2 vehicle is equipped with a British CV12 + French ESM500.
No. 3 vehicle has a Ukrainian power configuration.
No. 4 vehicle is planned to be equipped with a 120mm tank gun and MTU871/TCM AVDS-1790 + LSG3000. However, no one has heard that the No. 4 vehicle of the 90-II is to be equipped with a 120mm tank gun, but the power configuration description is the same as the second statement.
A certain Chinese military commentator (invited by media such as Sputnik News Agency and CCTV Military Channel) described in one of his articles a power configuration similar to the second statement, but did not mention the installation of a 120mm tank gun. However, in the article, he also described that the No. 3 prototype of the 90II tank has a non-wedge-shaped explosive reactive armor layout and is equipped with a British CV12 engine.

1 Like

yeah even according to my sources, protype of configuration 4 with a NATO 120mm was never made.

so it is more likely that the first set of prototype descriptions is correct?

could it be that pakistan had its own set of 4 prototypes while china had its own set of 4 prototypes?

This is a screenshot from a documentary about China"s military industry. On the left is the BK1871, which as evident from the hull adopts a heavily sloped frontal upper armor configuration and appears to have an upgraded gun barrel. On the right is what is suspected to be the No. 1 prototype, showing a less sloped frontal upper armor layout. The visible markings on its armor suggest the vehicle might be capable of mounting explosive reactive armor (ERA).@Armen Lozone


E2E1B2A30DAB6B88074212C58462EF37

3 Likes

Additionally, I notice the tank in this photo exhibits a hull exhaust layout indicating installation of a CV12 engine paired with an ESM500 system, while its side skirt armor configuration differs from ERA-equipped variants.

I wonder would it be called ZTZ-90 or something else to not mix with Japanese Type 90

The 90-II tank was not officially commissioned into service and therefore was not assigned the “ZTZ” prefix. The designation “90-II” was adopted to differentiate it from Japan’s Type 90 tank, hence the addition of the “II” suffix.

1 Like

The official Chinese designation is “90–II” without any prefix such as “Type 90–II” or “T 90–II”.

1 Like

the second one also has a bigger exhaust port. 10 slits as compared to 6