TECHNOLOGY SCAN: CHINA
04 DEC 2019
Brig Rajeev Kumar Bhutani (Retd)
1. ZTQ-15 / VT-5 /Type 15 30-Ton-Class Light Tank. Photos of an unidentified lightweight tank began to emerge in early 2014 on the Chinese Internet and social media. A lightweight MBT designated VT-5 was unveiled during the 2016 China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition (Zhuhai Air Show) and subsequently at the 2017 NORINCO Armour Day.
2. Two scaled models for the Type 15 were displayed at the National Museum of China 23 November 2018 as part of a grand exhibition to mark the 40th anniversary of the country's reform and opening-up in Beijing. China's Ministry of National Defence (MND) announced on 27 December 2018 that the Type 15 lightweight tank had officially entered service with the People's Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF).
3. A grand military parade was held in Beijing on 01 October 2019 to mark the People's Republic of China's 70th founding anniversary. Although the Type 15 was spotted several times by Chinese citizens in the past, this was the first time that China officially introduced its latest light tank.
4. With a combat weight of 33 t, the VT-5 is designed to operate in areas unsuitable for heavy MBTs, such as highlands, hilly areas, water networks, paddy fields, etc. Its lightweight also makes the tank suitable for rapid deployment to the theatre by airlift or railway. The tank is armed with an indigenous 105 mm rifled gun with autoloader, and advanced digital fire control comparable to that of the ZTZ-99A and MBT-3000/VT-4.
5. Design. The VT-5 has a conventional layout, with the driving compartment located at the front, the turret and crew compartment in the middle, and the engine compartment in the rear. The tank is operated by a three-man crew. 2
6. Protection. The hull and turret are protected by composite armour plating. The frontal arc of the turret is fitted with arrow-shaped spaced armour modules. The rear half of the turret is surrounded by storage racks, which not only offer extra places for the crew to store their equipment but also provide additional protections against HEAT projectiles. Wheels and tracks are protected by rubber hull skirts. Additional protection is provided by the FY series ERA modules, which is said to be capable of defeating the new-generation tandem-warhead anti-tank guided missiles.
7. The crew compartment is fitted with a collective over-pressure NBC protection system and automatic fire-supressing system. A laser warning receiver (LWR) is mounted on the roof of the turret. There is a 6-barrelled smoke grenade launcher on either side of the turret, under the storage racks near the rear of the turret.
8. Armament. The main armament is a dual-way stabilised Chinese indigenous 105 mm rifled gun, which has been developed from the British Royal Ordnance L7 technology. The gun is fitted with a fume extractor and thermal sleeve, and is fed by an autoloader. Ammunitions include armour piercing fin stabilised discarding sabot (APFSDS), high explosive anti-tank (HEAT), and high explosive fragmentation (HE-FRAG), with 38 rounds carried (18 inside the autoloader and 20 inside the crew compartment). The 105-mm gun is also capable of firing the Chinese gun-launched, laser beam-riding anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), which was derived from the Russian 9K116 Bastion (NATO codename: AT-10 ‘Stabber’). The missile has a maximum range of 5,200 m and an armour penetration capability of 700 mm. As well as ground targets, the missile is said to be also capable of engaging slow-flying helicopters.
9. Auxiliary weapons include one 7.62-mm coaxial machine gun, and a 12.7- mm/50-calibre anti-aircraft machine gun (AAMG) mounted on the commander’s hatch cupola. The tank has the option to be fitted with a remotely-operated AAMG and a 35-mm automatic grenade launcher for urban operations.
10. Fire-Control and Observation. The fire-control system of the VT-5 is said to be comparable to that of the heavier ZTZ-99A and MBT-3000/VT-4. Fire accuracy is attained by the dual-way stabilisation and ballistic computer with laser rangefinder and night vision inputs.
11. The driver is equipped with three observation periscopes, and the central periscope can be replaced by an image intensifying periscope for night vision. The gunner has a roof-mounted, dual-axis stabilised viewer incorporating a day channel, a thermal imaging system (TIS) night vision, and a laser rangefinder. The night vision employs the cooled detector thermal imaging system (TIS). 3
12. The commander’s station is equipped with six periscopes to provide all round 360° view. A commander panoramic viewer is mounted on the turret roof in front of the commander’s hatch copula, providing an independent, dual-axis stabilised, day/night vision with a 360° view, incorporated with a laser rangefinder. This arrangement allows the commander to search and engage targets directly, enabling the ‘hunter-killer’ capability.
13. Propulsion. The VT-5 is equipped with an indigenous 150 series liquid- cooled, turbo-charged, 8-cylinder diesel engine, producing a maximum output of 883 hp (650 KW). To improve its mobility performance, the tank is also fitted with a hydro pneumatic active suspension, which can be adjusted while travelling to deal with uneven terrain in mountainous regions. The tank can attain a maximum speed of 70 km/h on road.
14. Specifications:-
(a) PLA designation: Unknown
(b) Export designations: VT-5
(c) Designer: NORINCO North Vehicle Research Institute (201 Institute)
(d) Manufacturer: NORINCO Inner Mongolia First Machinery Factory (617 Factory)
(e) Year of introduction: 2014
(f) Operators: PLA Ground Force
(g) Crew: 3
(h) Combat weight (t): 33 (without ERA add-ons); 35 to 36 (with ERA add-ons)
(j) Engine: NORINCO 150 series diesel, liquid-cooled, turbo-charged, 8- cylinder, producing 883 hp (650 kW)
(k) Power-weight ratio (hp/t): 26.76
(l) Transmission: Hydro-mechanic with automatic planetary gear box
(m) Track: Metallic, with removable rubber pads and rubber-tyred road wheels
(n) Suspension: Hydropneumatic active suspension
(o) Maximum road speed (km/h): 70 (road) 4
(p) Main Armament: 105-mm rifled gun with autoloader, thermal sleeve, and fume extractor
(q) Auxiliary Weapon: Coaxial 7.62-mm machine gun; 12.7-mm anti- aircraft machine gun; 35-mm automatic grenade launcher (optional); 2x 6- barrel smoke grenade launcher
(r) Fire-control: Dual-way stabilised with laser rangefinder, onboard computer, and wind sensor input
(s) Night vision: Cooled-detector thermal imaging system
(t) Radio: Receive/transmit, telephone
(u) NBC protection: Collective, over-pressure
(v) Fire suppression: Automatic
(w) Air conditioning: Yes
https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/type-15.htm http://sinodefence.com/vt-5/
Capt (IN) KK Agnihotri 5
15. Chinese Magazine Reveals New H-6N Bomber with Possible ASBM. A government approved magazine named ‘Modern Ships’ has shown the photo of the Chinese modified bomber aircraft H-6N carrying a large ballistic missile slung under its fuselage. The missile looks quite similar to the DF-21D ASBM. The magazine also showed high-resolution computer-generated images of H-6N bomber aircraft along with this missile on its centerfold.
Cover of the ‘ Modern Ships’ magazine showing H-6N bomber with a large missile.
Detailed plans of H-6N Bomber that appeared as ‘Modern Ships’ centerfold 16. Comments. Chinese State-controlled media seems to be covering up the apparent mistake in publication of this news and related photos, with the ‘Global Times’ declared that these images were merely conceptual and generated by computer; thus had no official backing. However, the defence analysts are concerned that China could be close to realising an anti-ship standoff capability for the PLA that would extend the range of DF-21D ASBM well beyond the first island chain. The development, if true, would make China only the second nation to do so. Russia displayed an air-launched ballistic missile, the hypersonic Kinzhal, slung under a MiG-31 interceptor aircraft, in 2017. 6
17. Several modifications were noted on H-6N variant of China’s Xian H-6 series of bombers when it was flown at the 70th National Day parade in October 2019. Though Xinhua news said that it was a ‘homemade strategic bomber capable of air refuelling and long-range strike’, observers had noticed that the flying H-6N bombers did not have bomb-bay doors. Instead, there appeared to be new heavyweight attachment points in a recess along the centre-line at the bottom of its fuselage. Thus the cover of ‘Modern Ships’ magazine showing the missile fitted at under- fuselage hard-point seems to fit in logically with the observation of the analysts during the military parade. 18. Some speculations also assert that the semi-recessed area under the fuselage of the H-6N is designed to carry either the WZ-8 supersonic glide vehicle or the CJ-100 large cruise missile which is larger than the CJ-10 carried by the H-6K variant. The CJ/DF-100 may have a 2000km range at supersonic speed as compared to 1500 km of the earlier CJ-10 subsonic cruise missile. In the past, Chinese media has not been hesitant to claim a pending ballistic missile capability for its bombers. In August 2019, the Global Times had declared the H-6 was ‘expected to be armed with hypersonic weapons’. The appearance of the H-6N on the magazine’s cover indicates this expectation could be nearing reality. It also gives strength to their assumption that these changes enable the H-6N bomber to carry huge, nuclear-capable or hypersonic vehicle or an ASBM. 19. Further, aerial refuelling could expand the H-6N’s operational range by 500 km over the H-6K, to more than 4000 km. So, in theory, the H-6N bomber armed with CJ-100 cruise missile could extend the total strike range to about 6000 km. It would then increase the threat range for US aircraft carrier battle groups operating in the western pacific, and thus make it costlier for the US to project power in the area. 20. But the bomber still faces challenges, the biggest being that it is an old airframe not having stealth characteristics. Therefore it will face great threat while crossing the adversary’s air defences between Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines before it can attack targets deep in the Pacific Ocean. There is no confirmation of the progress timeline of China’s next generation Xian H-20 bomber, though some estimate that it might enter service by 2025.
Source:https://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/military/embarrassing-mistake- chinese-magazine-accidentally-reveals-new-top-secret-weapon/news-story/ 99967f182da868ba6321d559cde96e62
Gp Capt GD Sharma, VSM (Retd)
21. CHINA PLANS TO LAUNCH SPACE-BASED SOLAR POWER SATELLITE.1,2. China is planning to build the world's first solar power station in 1 https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottsnowden/2019/03/05/china-plans-to-build-the-worlds-first- solar-power-station-in-space/#4793f72d5c94
2 https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/431178-first-the-moon-now-china-plans-to- launch-space-based-solar-power-satellite 7 space to provide "inexhaustible clean energy" according to a story in Science and Technology Daily, the official newspaper of China's Ministry of Science and Technology. As per the China Academy of Space Technology, a space solar power system orbiting the Earth at an altitude of 36,000 kilometers could tap the energy of the sun's rays without disruption from atmospheric conditions or loss of sunlight at night.
22.Chinese are already testing the technology and intend to build the station by 2050. Xie Gengxin, deputy head of the Chongqing Collaborative Innovation Research Institute for Civil-Military Integration in Southwestern China, told the China Daily newspaper that a testing facility in Chongqing's Bishan district is being built that will be used to test the theoretical viability of a space-based solar power station.
23. A 33 acre test facility will develop space transmission technologies while studying the effect of microwaves beamed back to Earth on living organisms. The initial investment of 100 million yuan ($15 million) will be made by the Bishan district government and construction could take up to two years, but once it begins operations, scientists and engineers will use tethered balloons equipped with solar panels to verify microwave transmission technologies.
24. The plan is to launch four to six tethered balloons from the testing base and connect them with each other to set up a network at an altitude of around 1,000 meters. These balloons will collect sunlight and convert solar energy to microwave before beaming it back to Earth. Receiving stations on the ground will convert such microwaves to electricity and distribute it to a grid.
25. The concept was first proposed in 1968 by aerospace engineer Peter Glaser. At present, this notion may sound farfetched, but the space agencies of both China and Japan are taking the ideas forward.
26. Beijing is pledging to invest 2.5 trillion yuan ($367 billion) in renewable power generation i.e. solar, wind, hydro and nuclear by 2020, indicating China's willingness to invest in advanced concepts.
27. Space-based solar power has two advantages over the ground-based kind. First, the satellites can collect sunlight 24/7 and not just during the day when the weather is clear. Second, the solar power satellites collect much more of the sunlight since it does not have to go through the Earth’s atmosphere.
28. The problem with space-based solar power satellites is that, with football-field- sized solar arrays, they would be too large to be launched on a rocket. They would have to be assembled in space. Materials for the satellites would be mined on the moon or from Earth-approaching asteroids. The parts would be fabricated with 3D printer technology and then assembled in Earth orbit with tele-operated robots. Hence, China is making a strong push for the moon and its resources. Space-based solar power would change the world’s energy economy for the better if it could be done in an economically feasible manner. Space solar power would supplant fossil fuels.
29. China, a country has the heaviest carbon footprint on the planet, would especially find space-based solar power attractive. If the system can be made to work and China gets out in front with developing the technology, it could become the Saudi Arabia of solar power, providing dominance as a source of energy for the 21st 8 century. A space-based solar power market dominated by China would go a long way toward making China the supreme superpower on the plane. The ability to provide or withhold energy could give a country like China a great deal of power.
Graphic: Jamie Brown
Air Cmde T Chand (Retd)