Due to constraints on national strength, the resources available to the Pakistani army are not abundant, which often puts them at a disadvantage in horizontal comparison with the Indian army. However, this situation may have changed to some extent at least in certain aspects.
On March 6, the first domestically produced VT-4 main battle tank, delivered by Pakistan’s Taxila Heavy Industries, was unveiled. Pakistani Chief of Army Staff General Munir and other high-ranking Pakistani military officials, as well as the Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan and representatives from the Norinco company, attended the ceremony.
According to reports from Pakistani media, this tank was named “Haider,” which means “Lion” in Urdu, so it’s also referred to as the “Lion” tank. This tank, named VT-4, was assembled and manufactured by Taxila in cooperation with China’s Norinco company after obtaining the technology and production license for VT-4.
Perhaps to highlight the characteristics of Pakistani production, the event also showcased the MBT2000 “Haider” tank produced by Taxila, as well as some tank components.
Since India began equipping T-90S tanks in 2006, the Indian army’s tank force has entered a phase of large-scale expansion. With the comprehensive upgrade of T-72M1, the Pakistani army felt that the “Haider” was no longer sufficient, so they decided to purchase new tanks. After exploring various options, including European and American tanks which were either too expensive or not available for purchase, and considering Russia’s reluctance to export the T-90 series due to its relationship with India, as well as Ukraine’s inability to export tanks on a large scale, Pakistan finalized the purchase of VT-4 around 2017.
It’s worth noting that specific numbers were not disclosed by both China and Pakistan at the time. It was revealed by American media in September 2020 that the initial order was for 300 tanks, totaling over $1 billion, which is quite substantial compared to the previous export of 28 tanks to Thailand.
The VT4 has a combat weight of 52 tons, equipped with a 125mm smoothbore gun, with a maximum speed of 67 km/h on roads and 42 km/h off-road. It has a range of 500 kilometers and is powered by a Chinese-developed liquid-cooled turbocharged diesel engine combined with an automatic hydro-mechanical transmission, providing a power output of over 1200 horsepower, which can be quickly replaced within 1 hour. In terms of combat systems, it also uses the latest fire control systems and information modules, with independent thermal imagers for the tank commander, gunner, and driver.
Overall, the VT-4 can be seen as another masterpiece of Chinese tanks after the Type 99A main battle tank, especially with a more compact turret design and a more reasonable protection layout compared to the 99A. Considering there’s no habit of deliberately simplifying export models in China, the VT4 series tanks can be regarded as the most advanced domestically produced main battle tanks currently available.
Presumably satisfied with the performance of the VT4, in November 2022, the Pakistani military officially named the VT4 as “Lion” and planned to purchase more than 600 units. Currently, China’s Norinco has delivered more than 100 units. Thus, Pakistan needs to produce over 500 VT4 tanks on its own. The previously produced “Haider” tanks will be phased out and the existing fleet will be upgraded.
With the stock of “Haider” tanks included, the Pakistani army will have over 1000 third-generation main battle tanks deployed on the Indo-Pakistani border, which will exert pressure on India. More importantly, Pakistan now possesses an independent, sound, and complete line for improved third-generation tank production, making it considerably stronger than India.
India’s biggest problem is its lack of independent production capacity for main battle tanks. It’s futile to bring up the Arjun tank; when the tank was being developed, the People’s Liberation Army was still using “five pairs of wheels,” and now even the Type 99A is being criticized for not being advanced enough. The Arjun tank has only about 100 units in service, barely enough for an armored brigade.
The direct consequence of industrial decline is that India not only has to continue buying tanks from Russia but also has to import armor-piercing ammunition, such as the 3BM44 “Mango,” introduced in the late 1980s, from Russia.
Objectively speaking, the scale of India’s armored forces is quite formidable, with approximately 1500 T-90S, about 1200 T-72M1, 124 Arjun MK1 tanks, not to mention thousands of BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles. It can be said that the Indian Army has an armored force capable of sweeping South Asia, although the reliability of this force is questionable, and whether it can conduct rapid maneuvers in the complex terrain of the Indian subcontinent is debatable.
Quantity itself is a part of quality, coupled with hundreds of heavy fighter jets and armed helicopters in the Indian Air Force, it definitely has the capability to launch a lightning strike against neighboring countries.
India also deploys a considerable portion of its armored forces to Punjab and Rajasthan, which border Pakistan. The terrain here is mostly flat, consisting of deserts and farmland, which is ideal for large-scale armored assaults. Especially in Lahore, a major city in eastern Pakistan, which is only a dozen kilometers from the border, the Indian armored forces can penetrate the city with a single strike.
At the same time, the Indian Army is continuously strengthening its troops on the northern border with China. Recently, a T-90S tank battalion was transferred from the western front to the Ladakh front, which somewhat alleviated the pressure on Pakistan. However, with advanced Chinese tanks appearing on the western front and their numbers increasing, how does the Indian Army plan to deal with this?
Compared to India’s heavy concentration of troops on the Sino-Indian border, China naturally hopes that Pakistan can attract the main force of the Indian Army. Therefore, providing the production technology of VT4 tanks to Pakistan, allowing them to equip advanced tanks in large numbers at a relatively low cost, is an important means of restraining the Indian Army. Looking at Bangladesh to the east, which also equipped itself with a new generation of Chinese light tanks VT5, although the quantity is not large, it’s enough for maneuver warfare in the Ganges Delta. Military cooperation between the PLA and the Maldives has also had a good start.
Understanding China’s layout in South Asia makes it clear that China has done a lot of work to alleviate the military pressure on the Sino-Indian front line. India’s external military pressure is actually not small. In other words, only by continuously diverting and consuming India’s military forces in other directions can China make them wary and refrain from recklessness on the Sino-Indian front line. (Wang Yanan)
