A long time ago I did some looking into the name for this vehicle and found that I could not find any sources unrelated to War Thunder where the name ZTZ99-III is used. I could not find the ZTZ99-III on the internet and it seems the 99-III ingame is a 99-II while the 99-II ingame is actually a 99-I
I can’t find any evidence for the name ZTZ99-III ever being used, does anyone know where this name originates or if this is like a very particular model that just is rare?
I must emphasize that I have never seen the ZTZ99-III phrase used outside of war thunder or like another game and I am not saying that this vehicle does not exist. I am just interested in the name itself and if the designation in War Thunder is actually fictional.
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Per War Thunder’s own description of it:
The ZTZ99-III (ZTZ99式主战坦克 III类定型状态; lit. Third Type Certified Design; industrial code WZ123B) is the finalized 2004 design of the WZ123 project, with slight alterations to both the turret and hull (extended rear turret basket and ERA coverage, and revised welded turret and ERA block placements). This design soon became the standardized revision of ZTZ99 and was first shown in military training images by 2006. First officially publicized during an exhibition at the Military Museum of the Chinese People’s Revolution (中国人民革命军事博物馆) and being the leading vehicle phalanx of the 60th National Day Parade in 2009, the ZTZ99 is still in service with its LRIP version (ZTZ99-II) and its successor (ZTZ99A), mostly in northern China and Tibetan Plateau where there are extensive plains for tank assaults and defense.
So it was a project that simply became a standard revision of the ZTZ99?
War thunder cites the 60th national day parade in 2009, yet when I watched the video I am unable to find a mention of ZTZ99-III, they seem to only refer to it as ZTZ99 with no specific variant mentioned [as far as I was able to tell anyway along with my mother who helped translate the mandarin as at best I speak some cantonese]
I do not think using the War Thunder post is a good reference mainly because right now the thing I am bringing up is that I believe war thunder is incorrect when it comes to the ZTZ99-III designation. I cannot find proof that this is a real name.
For reference to the video I watched, I watched the august 1st film studio published version of the 60th national day parade incase anyone wants to also watch it and see if they can find a mention of it.
This is what it was labeled as which shows no specific variant of it, only that it is the ZTZ99
This model is also the ZTZ99-III in war thunder, however I still believe ZTZ99-III is the incorrect name and I do believe that it’s meant to be a ZTZ99-II
I think they meant ZTZ-99 (I) is this:
Spoiler
ZTZ-99 (II):
Spoiler
ZTZ-99 (III):
Spoiler
The reason I said that was in fact the ZTZ-98 is mentioned as ZTZ-99 -10
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This is the closest working answer so far, I have also come to this conclusion prior to making my post as well as I have read a post by a person named AaronD on 知乎 who put them in the same order, however I still cannot say with confidence that this is actually the intended designation for the vehicle as elsewhere on the internet I will find conflicting answers saying that it’s either called ZTZ99A2 or ZTZ99-III instead of ZTZ99-II
From my own research, I find that the ZTZ99-II in war thunder can also be called the ZTZ99G which I find kind of confusing as it seems the names are a bit messy when it comes with their naming convention.
On a website called nationalinterest, they describe the vehicles perfectly aligning with my assumption which is that the 99-II ingame is referred to as 99-I and the 99-III ingame is referred to as 99-II
On another website called thaimilitaryandasiaregion this is what they have to say regarding the names
So now what I am guessing to be ZTZ99-I [known in war thunder as 99-II] it is now referred to as Type 99G and the other one we know as ZTZ99-III is now referred to as Type 99A1, again now messing up what the name could possibly be.
The website above also mentions this in the article
I still even with these two websites am unsure, including the conclusion previously reached explaining why it could be named ZTZ99-III as it still seems so convoluted for a simple name. I’m hoping in my free time I may be able to find a publication by chinese media or some kind of official publicly released document stating their designations. Maybe I will need to try digging more on the chinese side of the internet to find it.
As far as I know, ZTZ992/3 is a common name on the Chinese Internet. It is a term used by netizens to refer to an unannounced name with minor improvements, which is different from 99-10. 99G is a simple term for the improvement of 99 (Gai). Similar names include 99 Big Change or ZTZ98, which are not official terms. If you want to communicate or have a more detailed discussion, you can use ChatGBT to translate it into a Chinese forum and ask questions (you can post the original text first and then the translated content to avoid inaccurate translation).
You can simply understand it as ZTZ99Pro/MAX
ZTZ99 (1999 Military Parade) 991/ZTZ98 (Type 99)
ZTZ992 (with FY4 version) (first-phase improved model)
ZTZ993 (Parade in 2009) 99G (Phase II Improved Version)
ZTZ99A 99A2 (Third-phase Improved Model)
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Seems to be the most solid explanation I can possibly find, I appreciate it! Thanks for the help
