The is a

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 ...

(MBT) of the

Japan Ground Self-Defense Force The , , also referred to as the Japanese Army, is the land warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Created on July 1, 1954, it is the largest of the three service branches. New military guidelines, announced in December 2010, direct ...

(JGSDF). It was designed and built by

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational engineering, electrical equipment and electronics corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. MHI is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group and its automobile division is the prede ...

as a replacement for the Type 61 and to supplement the then current fleet of Type 74 tanks, and entered service in 1990.

History

After the adoption of the Type 74, the Japanese High Command was already looking for a superior, completely indigenous tank design to defeat the Soviet

T-72 The T-72 is a family of Soviet Union, Soviet main battle tanks that entered production in 1973. The T-72 was a development based on the T-64 using thought and design of the previous Object 167M. About 25,000 T-72 tanks have been built, and refu ...

. As a result, development of a prototype Joint development was performed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and TRDI (Japan Defense Agency's Technology Research and Development Institute). Major subcontractors included Japan Steel Works, Daikin Industries,

Mitsubishi Electric is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational electronics and electrical equipment manufacturing company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. The company was established in 1921 as a spin-off from the electrical machinery manufacturing d ...

, Fujitsu and

NEC is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered at the NEC Supertower in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It provides IT and network solutions, including cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), Inte ...

. A first series of two prototypes of the Type 90 were developed, both armed with a Japanese 120 mm smoothbore gun (produced by Japan Steel Works Limited) firing Japanese ammunition (produced by Daikin Industries Limited). A second series of four prototypes was built between 1986 and 1988, incorporating changes resulting from trials with the first two prototypes. These were armed with the Rheinmetall 120 mm smoothbore gun also fitted to the German

Leopard 2 The Leopard 2 is a third generation German main battle tank (MBT). Developed by Krauss-Maffei in the 1970s, the tank entered service in 1979 and replaced the earlier Leopard 1 as the main battle tank of the West German army. Various iterat ...

and, in a modified version, the US M1A1/M1A2 Abrams main battle tanks. These second prototypes were used for development and then user trials, all of which were completed by December 1989, before Japan formally introduced the Type 90 in August 1990. Mass production began in 1990, and 30 vehicles were produced by the end of the year. With the exception of the 120 mm smoothbore gun, which is made under license from

Rheinmetall Rheinmetall AG () is a German automotive and arms manufacturer, headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was promoted to the DAX, Germany's leading stock market index, in March 2023. It is the largest German and fifth largest Europe ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, the Type 90 and its subsystems are all designed and built in Japan, leading to higher per unit costs than comparable models from NATO countries such as the

M1 Abrams The M1 Abrams () is a third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern armored ground warfare, it is one of the heavies ...

and the

Challenger 2 The FV4034 Challenger 2 (MoD designation "CR2") is a third generation British main battle tank (MBT) in service with the armies of the United Kingdom, Oman, and Ukraine. It was designed by Vickers Defence Systems (now Rheinmetall BAE Systems ...

. Development of upgrades to the Type 90 suffered both as a result of limited budget, which caused procurement delays, and funding prioritization in favor of the Type 10

. Due to a perception that Type 90s are unsuited to operations in the tight confines of Japan's urban areas, they are preferentially assigned to the JGSDF Fuji School Brigade and the 7th Armored Division based in

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

, where there is sufficient room for maneuver. With the exception of training exercises such as the annual Combined Live Fire Exercise hosted by the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

at Yakima Training Center in

Washington state Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

, the Type 90 has never been deployed overseas, and has never been tested in combat.

Design

Armament

The Type 90 mounts a Rheinmetall L44 120 mm

smoothbore A smoothbore weapon is one that has a barrel without rifling. Smoothbores range from handheld firearms to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortars. Some examples of smoothbore weapons are muskets, blunderbusses, and flintlock pistols. ...

cannon licensed produced by Japan Steel Works Limited. This is the same gun that is mounted on the German

, the American Abrams, and the South Korean K1A1 tank. Before Rheinmetall's gun was selected, Japan had successfully produced a domestic version of the 120 mm smoothbore for testing, but the lower cost of the Rheinmetall gave it an advantage over the domestic version.. Since its introduction there have been several upgrades to 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 ...

, including the addition of a Yttrium-Aluminium-Garnet

laser rangefinder A laser rangefinder, also known as a laser telemeter or laser distance meter, is a rangefinder that uses a laser beam to determine the distance to an object. The most common form of laser rangefinder operates on the time of flight principle by ...

with a range of 300 to 5,000 meters, a 32-bit

ballistics Ballistics is the field of mechanics concerned with the launching, flight behaviour and impact effects of projectiles, especially weapon munitions such as bullets, unguided bombs, rockets and the like; the science or art of designing and acceler ...

analysis computer, improved thermal imaging and Automated-tracking systems, and improved gun stabilization. The FCS also has an automated tracking system, and is capable of engaging moving or stationary targets while moving in day or night. The automatic target tracking system uses a thermal image display which can be controlled by either the tank gunner or commander. It is capable of tracking soldiers, vehicles and helicopters. The targeting computer can also calculate lead on moving targets. The commander's sight consists of a 3× / 10× (day-only sight). The sight can track vertically from −29 to +29 degrees, as well as track horizontally through 180 degrees. The gunners sight has a 10 x magnification. The gun is armed and loaded by a mechanical bustle

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 ...

(conveyor-belt type) developed by Mitsubishi of Japan. As with autoloader-equipped Russian main battle tanks, the French Leclerc, and the Swedish Strv 103, the Type 90 achieves manpower savings by reducing the crew to three.Type 90 Tank -GlobalSecurity.org
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/japan/type-90.htm Its ability to operate without a loader also allows the use of a smaller turret. The practical auto-loading and firing cycle for one target is around 4–6 seconds. Mounted in front of the gunner's hatch on the turret is the ubiquitous Browning

M2 machine gun The M2 machine gun or Browning .50-caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed near the end of World War I by John Browning. While similar to Browning's M1919 Browning machine gun, which was chambered ...

, manufactured under license by

Sumitomo Heavy Industries (SHI) is an integrated manufacturer of industrial machinery, defence products, ships, bridges and steel structure, equipment for environmental protection, including recycling, power transmission equipment, plastic molding machines, laser proce ...

, part of the

Sumitomo Group The is a Japanese corporate group and ''keiretsu'' that traces its roots to the ''zaibatsu'' groups that were dissolved after World War II. Unlike the ''zaibatsu'' of the pre-war period, there is no controlling company with regulatory power. In ...

. In addition to the .50-caliber machine gun, a Japanese-built 7.62 mm machine gun is mounted coaxially to the left of the main gun.

Armor

The profile of the Type 90 is similar to the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Leopard 2A4 and it uses modular ceramic and steel

composite armor 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 s ...

, common in contemporary tank designs. The adoption of modular

design facilitates the upgrading and exchange of the armor. The Type 90 is smaller than most main battle tanks with a height of , a width of , and a weight of . It was designed with a distinctive low-slung turret with boxy, vertical sides and a long overhanging

bustle A bustle is a padded undergarment or wire frame used to add fullness, or support the drapery, at the back of women's dresses in the mid-to-late 19th century. Bustles are worn under the skirt in the back, just below the waist, to keep the skir ...

. In comparison, the Leopard 2A4's dimensions are high and wide with a weight of .

Mobility

The powerpack of the Type 90 tank has the Mitsubishi 10ZG32WT 10-cylinder two-stroke cycle diesel engine providing 1500 hp, coupled with Mitsubishi MT1500 automatic transmission with four forward and two reverse gears, manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (designated 10ZG32WT, MT1500). The development of the 10ZG32WT prototype was started in 1972 and was finished in 1982. It can attain a top output of 1,120 kW (1,500

horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are t ...

@15min). The

hydropneumatic suspension Hydropneumatic suspension is a type of motor vehicle suspension system, invented by Paul Magès, produced by Citroën, and fitted to Citroën cars, as well as being used under licence by other car manufacturers. Similar systems are also widely u ...

units are mounted on the front and rear pair of road wheels, which can be adjusted on-the-fly to deal with uneven terrain, a requirement on Japan's rough, mountainous terrain. According to the Japanese Ministry of Defense official data report, the acceleration of the type is 0–200 m in 20 seconds.

Manufacture

The Type 90 has an approximate unit cost of 790 million

Japanese yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the euro. Th ...

or approximately 7.4 million

US dollar The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

s at 2007 exchange rates. 341 Type 90 tanks were produced between 1990 and 2009 with an average annual production number of 19 vehicles. The original procurement plan was established in the 1980s while Japan was experiencing asset price bubble. After the asset price bubble burst in 1991 and the collapse of Soviet Union in 1992, Japan started to cut its defense budget. In order to save budget for Kongo-class destroyers and other new weapons, Japan made a plan to reduce the size of its tank force. The production of Type 90 therefore slowed down and part of its budget was shifted to the research and development of the new Type 10 main battle tank.

Transportation

Being 12 tonnes heavier than its predecessor, the Type 74, the Type 90 was found to be more challenging to operate around Japan, with the exception of Hokkaido. Some politicians therefore criticized the effectiveness of Type 90 due to difficulty in transportation. In fact, more than 65% of major bridges in Japan were still considered passable for the Type 90, while overseas main battle tanks, such as Challenger 2 and Leopard 2, could only use 40% of bridges in Japan.

Operators

: 341 (2014) *

Northern Army *** JGSDF_2nd_Division

2nd Division **** 2nd Tank Regiment *** JGSDF_7th_Division

7th Division **** 71st Tank Regiment **** 72nd Tank Regiment **** 73rd Tank Regiment **** 7th Reconnaissance Unit *** JGSDF_5th_Brigade

5th Brigade **** 5th Tank Battalion *** JGSDF_11th_Brigade

11th Brigade **** 11th Tank Unit ** JGSDF_Director_Directly_Controled_Unit

JGSDF Fuji School *** Armor Department *** JGSDF Fuji School (Combined Training) Brigade **** Armored Guidance Corps *** Training Evaluation Unit ** JGSDF_Director_Directly_Controled_Unit

JGSDF Ordnance School (JGSDF Camp Tsuchiura)

References

* * Christopher F. Foss (ed)., ''Jane's Armour and Artillery,''

Jane's Information Group Janes is a global open-source intelligence company specialising in military, national security, aerospace and transport topics, whose name derives from British author Fred T. Jane. History Jane's Information Group was founded in 1898 by Fred T. ...

, c1988 *