The Type 98 is the latest main battle tank fielded by the Chinese People's Liberation Army. It has increased firepower, mobility and protection compared to the older tanks of the PLA such as the Type 88 or Type 59. The tank was revealed on October 1999 during the national parade and has entered service within the PLA in a small number for operational tests and evaluation before the finalization of the design.

Design features

The design of Type 98 has been influenced by the Soviet tank designs. But it also features layouts new to older tanks of the PLA such as slope shaped turret which increases protection. The driver's compartment is in the front, with the fighting compartment/turret directly behind, and power pack in the rear.

To accommodate more equipment and rounds, the Type 98's turret is slightly larger than that of the Type 90, which has resulted in a gap between turret and the hull in the front. This could be a major disadvantage in the battle as the whole turret might be blown off if the gap is hit.

In addition, the Type 98 also lacks designs often found on Western MBTs, which minimize the damage caused by HEAT projectiles. For example, the armor bulkheads separating the crew compartment from the fuel tanks and rounds, as well as the top panels designed to blow outwards in case of explosion are non-existant in the tank. This could lead to low survivability in modern combat field according to the experience of the 1991 Gulf War.

Armament

The main armament is a fully-stabilized 125 mm 50-calibre smoothbore gun with autoloader. Despite the early reports indicating the gun was a licensed copy of the Russian 2A46, it is actually an indigenous design derived from the Chinese 120 mm smoothbore gun technology.

Ammunitions include armor piercing fin stabilized discarding sabot rounds (APFSDS), high explosive anti-tank rounds (HEAT), and high explosive fragmentation (HE-FRAG) projectiles. China has also reportedly manufactured Russian A-11 laser guided anti-tank missile (ATGM) to be fired by the 125 mm gun. In addition, the Chinese have also experimentally developed depleted uranium (DU) rounds for their tanks and it may be available to the Type 98.

External links

• Type 98 tank