Sunday, August 21, 2016

China: New Type-96B tank loses wheel at Russian 'Tank Biathlon'

(Russia) Without a doubt the Chinese military is improving on an unprecedented scale. The advances they have made in every field can only be described as outstanding, yet the other week they found out the hard way that the newest of things are not always better than the things they have replaced.

In July, China unveiled the latest iteration of its Type 96 tank (Type-96B).


Designed to be the mainstay of the Chinese army (over 2,000 in service), they decided to show off the Type-96B by loading 5 of them onto a train and sent them into Russia for the 2016 International Army Games organised by the Russian Ministry of Defence. Find below a video of the Chinese T-96B in action alongside a Russian T-72B3M.


Anyway, somewhat embarrassingly for the Chinese, one of the competing tanks suffered a wheel loss, which cost them a position in the final standing. That said, it is a new tank and it takes time for new kit to settle in. From what I've seen, the Chinese will simply build on this.