NORINCO Type 85-II

History

The Chinese Army's Type 85-II Main Battle Tank (MBT) is a further development of its Type 80 MBT series. Major changes to the new product include a new turret design and improved hull armor protection. The tank is armed with a true Soviet style 1 x 125mm main gun and supports a coaxial 7.62mm machine gun and a 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun mounted on top of the turret as secondary armament. Unlike the Type 80, the Type 85-II uses an autoloader, the Type 85-II uses an autoloader, reducing crew readiness to just threedriver, commander, and gunner.

The drive is located in the front left and the rest of the crew is housed in the drive turret. The command tank version with navigation equipment and extended communications equipment is the "Type 85-IIA" variant.

The Type 85-II showed a conventional layout, such as a main battle tank, with a central turret above the hull, an almost horizontal glacier plate and a rear-mounted engine. The landing gear and the side sections of the fuselage are protected with serrated steel "rock" armor. Additional fuel tanks can be mounted outside the rear of the fuselage to increase range. In typical Soviet design fashion, the entire vehicle is understated - which makes it harder to hit targets from a distance. The smoke grenade launcher is located at the front of the turret to provide the vehicle with self-defense if needed.

The NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) protection kit is standard equipment, as is night vision support. The vehicle can carry 40 x 125mm projectiles as well as 500 x 12.7mm, 2,000 x 7.62mm and 12 x smoke grenades.

Power for the vehicle is provided by a single 730 hp V12 supercharged diesel engine. Combined with the torsion bar suspension, the tank can reach speeds of 36 mph on the road and a range of 310 miles in theaters.

The total weight reaches 45 tons, and the overall length is 33.7 feet, the height is 7.5 feet, and the width is 11.3 feet.

Type 85-IIM is a modernized form, while Type 85-IIA / Type 85-IIAP is used to denote the Pakistan Army variant. The Type 85-III has a more powerful 1,000 hp diesel engine and Explosive Reactive Armor (ERA) block support.

It will also feature thermal night vision goggles and an improved Fire Control System (FCS) for firing on the move.

Known operators are Pakistan, Sudan and Uganda.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

Armor

40 x 125mm projectile.

500x12.7mm ammo.

2,000 x 7.62mm ammo.

12 x Smoke Grenade.

Changes