The VT-4 (), also known as the MBT-3000, is a Chinese modernized

main battle tank A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank or simply tank,Ogorkiewicz 2018 p222 is a tank that fills the role of armour-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more po ...

built by

Norinco China North Industries Group Corporation Limited, doing business internationally as Norinco Group (an abbreviation of "North Industries Corporation"), and known within China as China Ordnance Industries Group Corporation Limited (), is a Chinese ...

for overseas export.

Development

During the development of Type 90-II/Al-Khalid (also known as MBT-2000) in the 1980s, the gearbox and engine were originally imported from Germany, but this plan was abandoned due to a Western arms embargo. The

powertrain In a motor vehicle, the powertrain comprises the main components that generate engine power, power and deliver that power to the road surface, water, or air. This includes the internal combustion engine, engine, transmission (mechanics), trans ...

instead was sourced from Ukraine, the same for most Chinese export vehicles at the time. China eventually developed domestic powertrains, which led to the creation of the MBT-3000 program for export customers. MBT-3000 was the successor of the Type-90II (MBT-2000) export tank. The MBT-3000 project later named as VT-4 began development in 2009 as a co-operation with the First Inner Mongolia Machinery Factory and other companies. The MBT-3000 concept debuted at the 2012

Eurosatory Eurosatory is the largest international exhibition for the land and air-land defence and security industry. It is held every two years in the Paris-Nord Villepinte Exhibition Centre, Paris, France. In 2022, it gathered over 1,700 exhibitors and ...

. The tank was subsequently shown at the 2014 Norinco Armour Day and the 10th

China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition (), also known as the Airshow China () and Zhuhai Airshow (), is a biennial international aerospace trade expo held in Zhuhai, Guangdong, since 1996. It is the largest airshow in China. Hi ...

as the VT-4.

Design

The VT-4 shares many subsystems technology and features from other latest Chinese main battle tanks such as Type 96B and Type 99A. Key examples are an automatic transmission system, 125 mm smoothbore cannon, muzzle reference system, FY-4 ERA, carousel-style

autoloader An autoloader or auto-loader is a mechanical aid or replacement for the personnel that load ammunition into crew-served weapons without being an integrated part of the gun itself. The term is generally only applied to larger weapons, such as na ...

, and overall geometry.

Armament

The VT-4 has a ZPT-98A 125 mm smoothbore gun capable of firing

APFSDS Armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS), long dart penetrator, or simply dart ammunition is a type of kinetic energy penetrator ammunition used to attack modern vehicle armour. As an armament for main battle tanks, it succeeds arm ...

HEAT In thermodynamics, heat is energy in transfer between a thermodynamic system and its surroundings by such mechanisms as thermal conduction, electromagnetic radiation, and friction, which are microscopic in nature, involving sub-atomic, ato ...

and HE rounds and gun-launched

anti-tank guided missiles An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armored military vehicles. ATGMs range in size from shoulder- ...

. There is also a

remote controlled weapon station A remote controlled weapon station (RCWS), remotely operated weapon system (ROWS), or remote weapon system (RWS), is a remotely operated light or medium-caliber weapon system, often equipped with a fire-control system, that can be installed on a ...

on the turret armed with a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun. The

fire-control system A fire-control system (FCS) is a number of components working together, usually a gun data computer, a director and radar, which is designed to assist a ranged weapon system to target, track, and hit a target. It performs the same task as a hum ...

has a panoramic sight with hunter-killer capabilities. The gunner sight features a laser rangefinder and a

Thales Thales of Miletus ( ; ; ) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek Pre-Socratic philosophy, pre-Socratic Philosophy, philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. Thales was one of the Seven Sages of Greece, Seven Sages, founding figure ...

Catherine-FC thermal imager.

Protection

The tank is protected by dual-layer protection consisting of

composite armour Composite armour is a type of vehicle armour consisting of layers of different materials such as metals, plastics, ceramics or air. Most composite armours are lighter than their all-metal equivalent, but instead occupy a larger volume for the sa ...

and FY-4

explosive reactive armour Reactive armour is a type of vehicle armour used in protecting vehicles, especially modern tanks, against shaped charges and hardened kinetic energy penetrators. The most common type is ''explosive reactive armour'' (ERA), but variants include ...

. According to the chief designer Feng Yibai, the frontal protection force is equivalent to 500 mm homogeneous steel armour, and the explosive reactive armour is around 700 mm. The front turret has wedge-shaped armour similar to other contemporary Chinese MBT's and the hull sides have conventional metal sideskirts. The VT-4A1 variant is equipped with a 'hardkill'

active protection system An active protection system (APS) is a system designed to actively prevent certain anti-tank weapons from destroying a vehicle. Countermeasures that either conceal the vehicle from or disrupt the guidance of an incoming guided missile threat are ...

designated GL5, defensive grenade launchers and a laser warning device. The vehicle also has an

IFF In logic and related fields such as mathematics and philosophy, "if and only if" (often shortened as "iff") is paraphrased by the biconditional, a logical connective between statements. The biconditional is true in two cases, where either both ...

system,

NBC protection Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear defense (CBRN defense) or Nuclear, biological, and chemical protection (NBC protection) is a class of protective measures taken in situations where chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclea ...

, explosion-suppression system, fire-extinguishing system and air conditioning.

Mobility

According to Norinco, the VT-4 uses a locally produced VT/E1 diesel engine with

torsion bar suspension A torsion bar suspension, also known as a torsion spring suspension, is any vehicle suspension that uses a torsion bar as its main weight-bearing spring. One end of a long metal bar is attached firmly to the vehicle chassis; the opposite end ...

and an Ch1000B automatic transmission. Steering and acceleration is handled by a steering wheel and automatic gear transmission. VT-4 is also capable of neutral steering.

Command and control

The tank is also integrated with digital communications systems for tank to tank communication and communication between commanders.

Variants

;MBT-3000: Prototype. ;VT-4: Production model. ;VT-4A1: Improved model with a modified turret. The new turret features radar panels, repositioned grenade dischargers, new hard-kill active protection system and a launcher for small attack drones. ;

Haider Haider is a predominantly Arabic name, with alternative spellings such as Haidar, Haydar and Heydar. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Haider Shah 15th-century sultan of Kashmir *Haider Al-Abadi, Iraqi politician * Haider Acke ...

: Locally assembled Pakistani variant. ;

VN20 The VN20 is a Chinese "Heavy-Duty Infantry fighting vehicle" developed by Norinco, revealed on the Zhuhai Airshow 2020. Norinco uses the "VNxx" designation for exported Infantry fighting vehicles. Design The VN20 was developed from the VT-4 ...

: Heavy

infantry fighting vehicle An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle and armoured personnel carrier used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct fire, direct-fire suppo ...

Operators

* − 6+ in service as of 2025. * − 680 ordered in 2023. * − 62 in service as of 2025.

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{Post–Cold War tanks, style=wide Main battle tanks of China Military vehicles introduced in the 2010s Norinco Post–Cold War main battle tanks Tanks with autoloaders