The Chinese military is testing a new tank that could be used in a potential future invasion of Taiwan.

Although it is unclear where the new armored vehicle is in its development, the project falls under a wider effort by the Chinese military to modernize its arsenal as Beijing is becoming more assertive in the Indo-Pacific and around the world.

A New Chinese Battle Tank

Back in May, a series of images surfaced on Chinese social media showing what are likely two variants of a new Chinese tank.

The images showed two tanks moving in the streets of Baotou, the largest urban center in Inner Mongolia. Based on the imagery, it is very likely that the two vehicles belong to the same type of tank but are different variants. For example, judging from the pictures, it looks like one of the armored vehicles packs a 125mm main gun, while the second has a 105mm main gun.

Moreover, the two tanks weren’t towed and were moving on their power, indicating advanced development, at least in the engine/motor.

According to reports, the new tank will likely sport anti-drone technology in order to deal with the prevalent threat of unmanned aerial systems on the modern battlefield. The war in Ukraine has shown that drones can be extremely deadly, and only the right kinetic and electronic warfare countermeasures can defeat them.

It is likely that the Chinese military is using parts and technology of the Type 15 light tank in its development of the new tank. The Type 15 went into full production in 2015 and is designed as a lighter tank option for difficult operational environments like mountains and wetlands.

Chinese Military Development

For decades, Beijing chose an unconventional path to develop its military capabilities. Instead of relying on domestic ingenuity and science, successive Chinese governments sought to steal foreign military technology and replicate it domestically. Surprisingly, this strategy has worked very well thus far, and the Chinese military is brimming with weapon systems and munitions that are based on foreign designs.

For example, the Type 99 main battle tank of the Chinese military is largely based on the Russian T-72 tank. Similarly, the J-20 Chengdu stealth fighter jet shares an uncanny similarity with the American F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jet.

In the defense context, what China has in resourcefulness and vision it lacks in innovation. For decades, Beijing has stolen the blueprints of weapon systems and munitions and recreated them in its laboratories and factories. Slam a new name and a couple of changes, and voila, the Chinese military has a new main battle tank, fighter jet, destroyer, etc. That strategy worked well for as long as China was behind. But now Beijing is catching or has caught up, and the pressure is on now to create something new that can’t be stolen because it doesn’t exist. Naturally, there is some skepticism as to the extent to which the Chinese defense industry can innovate and produce something new.

About the Author: 

Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations and a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from Johns Hopkins University and an MA from Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.

Image Credit: Creative Commons.