As a continuation of the above conversations, I found some interesting data that supports the discussion to this point.
Also as I keep my eyes open to the world on matters concerning the game, I found some interesting news concerning
Nigeria that has taken delivery of what will be one of the
most advanced tanks operating in Africa.
Nigeria is at the forefront of Sub-Sahara countries trying to modernize their armies.
Now back to Japan, first from ref. 1...
This really also includes the
TYPE-74/TYPE-90 as well as the
TYPE-10 the ref is about, this under
Mobility.
"A feature
carried over from both the
Type 74 and
Type 90 is the
Hydropneumatic Active Suspension. This is seen as a ‘must-have’ feature by Japanese strategic heads,
given the Japanese countryside’s mountainous terrain. The suspension allows the tank to ride higher or lower depending on the terrain type, tilt left or right, or raise and lower the front or rear of the tank. This increases the elevation or depression angle of the gun, giving the ability to fire over a ridge line without presenting a target for an enemy vehicle.
(Somewhere in this Thread on the
TYPE-10, I posted a picture of the tank at about a
~35 degree angle going over a wall on the right side of the tank.)
This suspension also has another use. A bulldozer blade can be mounted on the bow of the vehicle. When the front of the tank is fully depressed, this blade serves as a way to clear out debris from a firing position or help to carve out a new one.
A
similar system was incorporated on the
Swedish Strv. 103, or S-Tank."
Next...
"Deployment Capabilities
One of the issues with the
Type 90 Kyū-maru Main Battle Tank was its weight of
50.2 tons. Due to weight limits of many roads and bridges in some of the more rural areas of Japan, the
Type 90 was
only deployed in Hokkaido.
A requirement of the
Type 10 was that it was much lighter, and it achieved that. Unloaded,
which is how it would be transported, it only
weighs 40 tons, as previously mentioned. This means that
84% of Japan’s 17,920 bridges are
now passable with the
Type 10,
compared to only 65% of the
Type 90, and a
meager 40% for the
average western tank."
So there you have.
https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/moder...pe-10-hitomaru
http://www.military-today.com/tanks/tk_x.htm
Highlights:
"Vehicle has a sloped modular ceramic composite armor
similar to the
Leopard 2A5. Its side profile is
similar to the
Leclerc."
"Autoloader is
located in the
turret bustle (More on this
w/TYPE 90 below.) The autoloader is
more advanced than on the previous
Type 90 MBT."
"The
Type 10 fires
newly developed
armor-piercing ammunition."
"The
Type 10 main battle tank is also fitted with a
state-of-the-art semi-active hydropneumatic suspension. The tank can "
sit", "
stand", "
kneel" or to "
lean" in
any direction. This feature gives a number of advantages, especially operating in mountainous terrain."
On
TYPE-90...
https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/moder...pe-90_Kyu-Maru http://www.military-today.com/tanks/type_90.htm
Highlights:
"The
Type 90 is among the
best MBTs in the world. Furthermore for a
period of time it was the
most expensive production MBT."
"The
Type 90 has an all-welded hull and turret. Its
composite armor has
superior resistance qualities."
"However
autoloaders of the
Cold War era Soviet main battle tanks had
one common problem as the
ready-to-use ammunition was stored in the main compartment, rather than a separate compartment. In this case once the
armor is penetrated it can
trigger detonation of onboard ammunition. Japanese designers
addressed this problem by
relocating the autoloader in the turret bustle with blow-out panels. So ready-to-use ammunition is
separated from the crew. Autoloader of the
Type 90 tank holds
20 rounds, stored in the turret bustle that are
ready to fire."
(Rest are stored in the
Front Hull area.)
"At the time it was
one of the most advanced fire control systems in the world. It gives a
high first round hip probability and, accurate mobile firing. Furthermore it has
hunter-killer engagement capability, which enables to engage
multiple targets rapidly. This feature was
new at the time when this tank was introduced."
With development of the
TYPE 10, supposedly, the
FCS has been further updated.)
" Fire control system of the
Type 90 is
reportedly more advanced than those used on the
French Leclerc,
German Leopard 2A5 and American
M1A2 Abrams.
The
TYPE 10 is meant to
supplement the
TYPE-90. Though the
TYPE 10 can
take out any modern MBT, due to the
specialized AP round it can only fire, it's not really designed for that purpose, this is why the
TYPE-90 will
stay in service until replaced.
On
TYPE 74...
https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/coldw...ype-74_MBT.php
http://www.military-today.com/tanks/type_74.htm
Highlights:
"This tank uses a number of
best features of contemporary Western designs, placing it in the
same class as the
M60 Patton and
Leopard 1. However it saw widespread use only in 1980s, when more capable Western designs were introduced. So the
Type 74 was generally
out-dated even
before it entered service"
"A cast turret of the
Type 74 is broadly similar to that of the
French AMX-30. This main battle tank is armed with a
fully-stabilized 105 mm rifled gun. It is the
British L7 gun, manufactured in Japan under license.
Prototype of the
Type 74 was
fitted with an autoloader, however it proved
too complex and
expensive, and was removed. Initially the
Type 74 used
HEP rounds. These were
later upgraded to
APFDSD and
HEAT-MP. A total of
55 rounds are carried for the main gun"
"
Fire control system of this main battle tank was
very advanced. For the
first time in the world a tank was fitted with
advanced computer for ballistic calculations. It also had a
laser rangefinder.
In service tanks were later
upgraded with infra-red imagers."
"Vehicle has a
hydropneumatic suspension, allowing
this MBT to "
sit", "
stand", "
kneel" or to "
lean". This feature was
incorporated from the
canceled German-US MBT-70 design. The driver can adjust the suspension to suit the type of terrain."
There you have it.
All quotes taken from Military-Today
Nigeria:
They received the first shipment of
VT-4 tank(s),
SH-5 6x6 105mm SPA and
ST-1 light tanks. This supplemented by Russian equipment recently (
Ref. 1 Para 9) received as well. Also from ref. 1 the crews have already been trained in China on their use. Once
CORNA-19 dissipates, China is to send along F/U trainers.
https://www.defenceweb.co.za/feature...ry-from-china/
https://www.armyrecognition.com/apri...rian_army.html
https://defence-blog.com/army/nigeri...rom-china.html
https://www.globalsecurity.org/milit...pladaily01.htm
I would expect the Chinese equipment to be operational by Oct-Dec timeframe if the shipments are on schedule.
If it applies: Happy Easter!!
Regards,
Pat
