The ZTZ88A and ZTZ88B in game are missing a few features. The ones that stand out are:
- the ISFCS-212 fire controls aren’t modelled on the X-Ray model, despite being present on the ZTZ96
- missing the ability to fire DTC02-105 APFSDS (which is fair enough, ~580mm of RHA pen at 9.0 would be pretty busted, probably an intentional balancing choice- same reasons why ZTZ96 doesn’t get DTC10-125)
- ZTZ88A missing ability to mount ERA on the turret front similar to ZTZ59D1 (also not that big of a deal, apparently only Myanmar has ever used ZTZ88As with that upgrade)
- missing thermal gunsight for the ZTZ88A and ZTZ88B
I’ve also heard it’s missing a spall liner but I want to ask about the thermal sight - I’ve spent some time searching across the internet looking for a source for that, and not found much information about it. I don’t know any primary sources (and wouldn’t know where to look for them), and a lot of secondary sources cite this one article from 2005 - “The Rise of China’s Leopard: Unveiling the Secrets of the Domestically Produced Type 88B Main Battle Tank”, published in International Outlook magazine, 21 January 2005 (Link - article in Mandarin). It goes into a lot of detail about the thermal sight:
[…] The sighting equipment includes a three-in-one stable field of sight for day, night and ranging, including a captain command sight, a gun-length fixed periscope, a loader periscope, a fixed conductor’s periscope, a laser emission cavity, laser power supply and counter, a periscope and a gun captain night I generation microscope. Optical sight (later replaced by a simple infrared thermal imager).
[…] In terms of fire control ability, the 88B’s lower anti-stable image fire control system is quite advanced, which is the same as many third-generation main battle tanks in the world; the advanced fire control system allows the 88B to accurately shoot at moving targets day and night, and the shooting response time is extremely short. In addition, the fire control system can also be downgraded, that is, when the stable image part fails, it can be used as a simple fire control system for automatic metering; when the automatic metering system fails, it can be aimed and shot by manually installing the meter ruler. Judging from the actual use of the stable image fire control system, it is no less than the FLT2 fire control system of the U.S. M1 tank and the German Leopard-II tank. In terms of night combat ability, the original 88B was equipped with a low-light night vision device, and the night vision effect was not strong. In the confrontation drill with the 59D equipped with a simple thermal imager, it was at a disadvantage. Later, after replacing the low-light night vision instrument with a simple thermal imager, the performance of the advanced fire control system was given full play, and the night combat ability was greatly improved.
It specifically describes the normal gunner’s sight as being interchangeable with a thermal sight. However, I haven’t been able to find any other source - that doesn’t cite this article specifically - that also confirms this.
This article, which doesn’t cite the International Outlook article (because it doesn’t cite any sources, nor have an Author listed) claims the thermal sight in question was the JSC Peneg 1K13 gunner’s sight - aka the one used on the likes of T-72B and T-62M-1. However, I have not been able to find any photos of a ZTZ88 fitted with this system.
Does anyone have a source on the ZTZ88’s thermal sights, if it even had them? I don’t speak mandarin but it seems like I’m running into the same articles over and over and can’t find anything definitive outside of enthusiast’s blogs and the odd journal/magazine article.