Al-Khalid MBT
TypeMain battle tank
Place of origin China
Service historyIn service 2001 – presentUsed by
Production historyDesignerNorinco
Designed 1993–1999
ManufacturerNorinco (MBT-2000, Type 96-IIM)
Heavy Industries Taxila (Al Khalid
)Unit cost $4.7 million – $5.8 million USD in 2011
Produced 2001 – present
Variants
Pakistani:
ArmourComposite armour, RHA, ERA[3]
Main
armament
125 mm smoothbore gun, 39 rounds
Secondary
armament
7.62 mm coaxial machine gun, 3000 rds
12.7 mm external AA machine gun, 500 rds
EngineKMDB 6TD-2 6-cylinder diesel
1,200 hp (890 kW)
Power/weight 26 hp/ton
Transmission SESM ESM500 5-speed automatic
Suspension Torsion bar with hydraulic dampers
Operational
range
500 km (310 mi) combat range
Speed 72 km/h (45 mph)
Pakistan’s main battle tank
The Al-Khalid is today’s first-line main battle tank of the Pakistani armed forces, given to the best armoured divisions. Its development goes back to the Chinese Type 90 MBT, a relatively small-scale production MBT considered as a semi-experimental series, transitional for the Type 96 MBT. Rough translation of “Al Khalid tank” is “the immortal tank” but the true origin remains the 7th-century Muslim commander Khalid bin al-Walid (592-642 AD). It is remarkable for its extremely modular conception, likely to be modified with foreign powerplants and subsystems. Of low silhouette, light and compact, it is nonetheless armed with the same 125 mm smoothbore able to fire ammo comparable to all NATO standards and ATGMs. The Al Khalid MBT encountered some export success early on.
TypeMain battle tank
Place of origin China
Service historyIn service 2001 – presentUsed by
Production historyDesignerNorinco
Designed 1993–1999
ManufacturerNorinco (MBT-2000, Type 96-IIM)
Heavy Industries Taxila (Al Khalid
)Unit cost $4.7 million – $5.8 million USD in 2011
Produced 2001 – present
Variants
Pakistani:
- Al-Khalid
- Al-Khalid I
- Al-Khalid II (under development)
- Type 90-IIM
- MBT-2000
- VT-1A
- ALTAY
ArmourComposite armour, RHA, ERA[3]
Main
armament
125 mm smoothbore gun, 39 rounds
Secondary
armament
7.62 mm coaxial machine gun, 3000 rds
12.7 mm external AA machine gun, 500 rds
EngineKMDB 6TD-2 6-cylinder diesel
1,200 hp (890 kW)
Power/weight 26 hp/ton
Transmission SESM ESM500 5-speed automatic
Suspension Torsion bar with hydraulic dampers
Operational
range
500 km (310 mi) combat range
Speed 72 km/h (45 mph)
Pakistan’s main battle tank
The Al-Khalid is today’s first-line main battle tank of the Pakistani armed forces, given to the best armoured divisions. Its development goes back to the Chinese Type 90 MBT, a relatively small-scale production MBT considered as a semi-experimental series, transitional for the Type 96 MBT. Rough translation of “Al Khalid tank” is “the immortal tank” but the true origin remains the 7th-century Muslim commander Khalid bin al-Walid (592-642 AD). It is remarkable for its extremely modular conception, likely to be modified with foreign powerplants and subsystems. Of low silhouette, light and compact, it is nonetheless armed with the same 125 mm smoothbore able to fire ammo comparable to all NATO standards and ATGMs. The Al Khalid MBT encountered some export success early on.
