You are on the right track. One of the prototypes that got seen publicly months ago had that configuration.
Here I´m just playing around, almost eyeballing how much leg room the crew may be getting and the probable thickness of a front module. Can be as thick as a road wheel.
Does it exist: Yes (to be verified)
Fixed it for you
bro im making a joke
3 crew actually.
Yes it is.
Nice thread, and also: Gaijin, when…
Is a 105mm shell with semi-combustible cartridge is feasible on theory?
We’ve only seen two.
How do u deduce it’s a small engine, to me this look big enough for an engine at least 1000+ hp, and 1500 if hybrid.
The presence of three fixed observation windows above the crew compartment indicates an additional crew member positioned between the crew hatches.
I don’t think that’s an indicator. With the VR like head set the tank should be heavily digital, so they should both be able to access the screen/observation windows, and the fact that there are two crew hatches doesn’t help your point, as it’s unlikely the other guy has to share a door.
Note that this is not an electronic camera but a backup optical periscope, and it is worth noting that the T-14 also features two hatches despite having three crew members.
Could it be a two people tank? I recalled SCMP reporting on a potential two person tank few years ago
That’s what it likely is, since it turned out western style MBTs are likely too heavy for china’s liking, and Russian ones aren’t mobile enough.
This is a smart choice. The conventional, heavy armor tanks (challenger, Abrams) are obsolete in a truly future battlefield. Expensive, heavy, unwieldy for military logistics system.
Drone swarms, top attack missiles, smart shells etc etc.
The popularization of cage armor on top is a evidence of that.
The meta is to pack as many as cheap smart weaponry as possible.
yeah I know, its OK.
Since 2018 all reporting on the program indicated a 2 man crew. We´ll see.
Its possible, I don´t see a spent case ejection hatch on the turret.
it’s actually a misunderstanding of its nickname
No, articles published back then (2018-19) dealt in detail on how the engineers worked around the 2 man crew limitations in respect to task-cognitive overload of the TC (since the dedicated gunner was made redundant by AI operated FCS). The nickname came much more recently.
Further, in promotional material Norinco showed their 2 men crew compartment test rig. So at the very least there was a real R&D push towards it. Perhaps they walked that back to 3 men or perhaps they pushed on. We´ll see in a few weeks.
This is particularly true as China has a wealth of 55 tonne level infrastructure and the present need for combat potentially in tibet both requires lighter tanks. One of the major draw backs of ZTZ99A is that it hits the hard 55t limit so it is difficult for them to add stuff to it, cause they’ll have to take the weight off first likely.
Why would u need three of them? I’d assume they are all for the drive to have a better view.
It’s more likely that these are just the same as the two parts stuffed together on ZTZ99A except separated. I can’t really think why say the gunner/commander need to be seeing the road.
I mean it’s a ZTZ96 replacement as well so gotta be cheap, likely mass produced with loads of interchangeable parts.
The driver’s hatch periscope resembles that on the ZTZ99A, split into two separate sections providing forward and lateral views respectively, while the center gunner’s periscope and right-side commander’s periscope offer only basic forward vision—clearly lacking expanded field-of-view capability. The 360-degree panoramic camera system is not located here.
