HIT Al-Zarrar

History

In 1958, China began local production of the Soviet T-54A main battle tank, the Type 59. About 9,500 were produced by 1980, making it one of the most numerous main battle tanks of the Cold War. Equipped with a 100mm rifled main gun and armor up to 203mm thick, the Type 59 survived in various forms throughout its service life and was used by many budget buyers in Central Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. One was to order 80 tanks in 1964 and to receive the entire batch in 1966.

There was a 210-man order in 1968, which further strengthened the Pakistan Army's Armoured Corps. Additional tanks were ordered in 1973 and 1975, bringing the total Type 59 purchase to about 1,300.

Like any other combat system, the Type 59 has shown its limitations with age and changing battlefield technology. As such, the Pakistani Type 59 stockpile was selected for a retrofit program aimed at upgrading the fleet to produce a more modern end product suitable for the modern battlefield.

The move is a more cost-effective measure than buying a whole new fleet of expensive main battle tanks. Local group Heavy Industries Taxi (HIT) has been selected for the upgrade programme to modernise the Type 59 fleet with hundreds of modifications.

MBTs survive on the battlefield through proper allocation of resources - mainly armor protection, mobility and firepower. To this end, HIT was asked to correct the shortcomings of the Type 59 design with a new armor protection scheme, new engine installations, and new main gun armament. Work on the new tank began in 1990 and ended in 1998 with a working prototype. A formal assessment was then conducted by the Pakistan Army to determine initial conditions and requirements.

With the design finalized, full-scale serial production of the new tank began in 2003, when the system entered service with the Pakistan Army as "Al-Zarrar". The first delivery took place in 2004 and is still going on at the time of writing (2012).

The completed Al-Zarrar is a 44-ton chain combat system with a powerful 125mm smoothbore main gun in a movable turret. The vehicle is mounted on a sprocket system consisting of five twin-tire large wheels, a rear drive sprocket and a front track idler. Track deflection rollers guide the upper track area in the usual way. Its overall design is very traditional, with the driver in the front hull, the engine in the stern, and the rest of the crewcommander, gunner and loaderin the turret.

The Al-Zarrar has an inherently low profile, a common design feature of general Soviet tanks. Armor protection is addressed through a new protection scheme that includes optional Explosive Reactive Armor (ERA) blocks for the turret and hull. Side skirts (optional) provide additional protection for the sides of the fuselage and rail system. Mobility is provided by a 730 hp KMDB liquid-cooled 12-cylinder diesel engine of Ukrainian origin, giving the Al-Zarrar a top speed of 65 km/h and a range of 450 km. In keeping with previous Soviet tank designs, the Al-Zarrar retained the option to mount external fuel barrels at the rear of the hull to increase range.

The vehicle is suspended on a torsion bar suspension system. Firepower is provided by a chromed 125mm main gun, a nod to the Soviet Union's extensive use of the same large caliber guns with Western 120mm guns, and thus inherent missile launch capability. Like other tanks in its class, the Al-Zarrar was protected from air attack by a heavy Soviet-style 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun on top of the turret and a 7.62mm machine gun coaxially mounted to the main tank's infantry protection gun. turret.

The turret retains the side-by-side hatches of the original Soviet T-54 model.

The main gun is fully stabilized and capable of firing various types of projectiles, including high-explosive and armor-piercing. The Fire Control System (FCS) is modern and the main gun has a semi-automatic reloading system. Accuracy is managed by a digital system including a laser rangefinder.

All in all, the finished armor system allows for accurate fire while driving.

Vehicles are defended outside of their machine gun positions. This includes the use of integral electric smoke grenade launchers located on either side of the front turret. As a result, vehicles can create their own smoke screens to hide enemy movements. Armor protection is specifically designed to counter the threat of underground mines and guided anti-tank missiles. This, combined with an onboard threat warning system, alerts the crew to being pursued by enemy weapons.

In the event of a direct collision with the vehicle, an automatic fire suppression system activates to protect occupants and ammunition from an internal explosion or fire.

To date (2012), around 320 Pakistan Army Type 59 tanks have been upgraded to the newer Al Zarrar standard and the two are deployed side by side. The Al-Zarrar series was actively used in the fight against entrenched militants in and around Swat and Malakand.

One example survived several suicide bombings that eventually led to the decommissioning of the tank, but its entire crew survived.

Al-Zarrar is actively offered for export by Pakistan, especially to existing owners and operators of the T-54/59 family (of which there are many). Bangladesh initially intended to upgrade its existing fleet of Type 59 tanks to the Al Zarrar standard, although this resulted in an improved form of the Type 59G directly from China.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

Armor

45 x 125mm bullet

300 x 12.7mm ammo

2,000 x 7.62mm ammo

8 x Smoke Grenade

Changes