The Type 15 (, also designated ZTQ-15), codenamed the Black Panther (), is a Chinese third generation

light tank A light tank is a Tank classification, tank variant initially designed for rapid movements in and out of combat, to outmaneuver heavier tanks. It is smaller with thinner vehicle armour, armor and a less powerful tank gun, main gun, tailored for ...

family operated by the

People's Liberation Army Ground Force The People's Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF), also referred to as the PLA Army, is the army, land-based service branch of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), and also its largest and oldest branch. The PLAGF can trace its lineage from 192 ...

, People's Liberation Army Navy Marine Corps, and People's Liberation Army Air Force Airborne Corps. The tank has also been exported to the

Bangladesh Army The Bangladesh Army () is the land warfare branch, and the largest component of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The primary mission of the Army is to defend the land of Bangladesh from any external attack. Control of personnel and operations is ad ...

. It is the effective successor to the Type 62 light tank that was retired from the Chinese army in 2013. The export version of the tank is known as VT-5.

Development

During development, the Type 15 was repeatedly sighted by Chinese citizens, with sightings as early as 2011. The Type 15 entered mass production in 2016. In December 2018, the tank was officially acknowledged to be in active service. It was showcased in the 70th National Day parade on October 1, 2019.

Design

Overview

The Type 15 is designed to fulfill the requirement for a lighter, more mobile modern tank that can effectively operate in

highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...

and water-rich regions where the heavier Type 99 and Type 96

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 ...

s might have difficulties traversing. In high altitude regions like

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

, the air becomes thin and engines start to lose power. Heavily armored vehicles such as

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 ...

and

T-90 The T-90 is a third-generation Russian main battle tank developed from, and designed to replace the T-72. It uses a 125mm 2A46 smoothbore main gun, the 1A45T fire-control system, an upgraded engine, and gunner's thermal sight. Standard p ...

main battle tanks will have difficulty to traverse in the hypoxic environment, but the Type-15 light tank can operate at high altitudes with its powerful engine and oxygen generators. Type-15 is also much more mobile than heavier main battle tanks due to its light weight and high

power-to-weight ratio Power-to-weight ratio (PWR, also called specific power, or power-to-mass ratio) is a calculation commonly applied to engines and mobile power sources to enable the comparison of one unit or design to another. Power-to-weight ratio is a measurement ...

Armament

The Type 15 light tank features a fully-stabilized 105 mm rifled

gun A gun is a device that Propulsion, propels a projectile using pressure or explosive force. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns or water cannon, cannons), or gas (e.g. light-gas gun). So ...

, which is reportedly superior to the old ZPL-94 105 mm rifled gun fitted on Type 88 and Type 59 tanks. It is reported that the main gun has an effective firing range of 3 km and is compatible with all standard NATO 105 mm tank ammunition. The sustained fire rate is supported by a

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 ...

-mounted autoloader system, which reduces the crew to 3. The Type 15 tank can hold 38 rounds of various 105 mm

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...

s. The ammunition selections include APFSDS,

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 (High explosive) rounds and gun-launched ATGM. APFSDS and HEAT rounds are used against enemy armor while HE round is used against enemy infantry positions, light/non-armored vehicles, buildings, and field fortifications. The APFSDS

projectile A projectile is an object that is propelled by the application of an external force and then moves freely under the influence of gravity and air resistance. Although any objects in motion through space are projectiles, they are commonly found ...

s are capable of penetrating of armored steel at . The penetration capabilities of 105 mm APFSDS are not considered as sufficient to penetrate the front armor of modern

s such as

or VT-4. To defeat well-protected opponents, the tank would use the 105 mm gun-launched ATGM with tandem high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warheads, offering much higher penetration. The missile reportedly has a range of 5 km and is capable of engaging low-flying helicopters. Other armament includes a QJT-88 5.8 mm coaxial machine gun, a remotely-controlled weapon station mounted on the turret roof, which is fitted with QLZ-04 35 mm

automatic grenade launcher An automatic grenade launcher (AGL) or grenade machine gun is a grenade launcher that is capable of fully automatic fire, and is typically loaded with either an Belt (firearm), ammunition belt or Magazine (firearm), magazine. These weapons are oft ...

and QJC-88 12.7 mm

heavy machine gun A heavy machine gun (HMG) is significantly larger than light, medium or general-purpose machine guns. HMGs are typically too heavy to be man-portable (carried by one person) and require mounting onto a weapons platform to be operably stable or ...

Electronics

Type 15 features modern sensory and fire control systems, including laser rangefinder, advanced ballistic computer, meteorological sensors, gunner thermal imaging sight, millimeter-wave radar, and

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

's panoramic

sight Visual perception is the ability to detect light and use it to form an image of the surrounding Biophysical environment, environment. Photodetection without image formation is classified as ''light sensing''. In most vertebrates, visual percept ...

. The fire control system supports automatic target tracking, hunter-killer capabilities, and commander takeover. Other equipment includes

air conditioning Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C (US) or air con (UK), is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior temperature, and in some cases, also controlling the humidity of internal air. Air c ...

system, oxygen-production equipment for the crew, command and control equipment, battlefield management system, and navigation suite fitted with both

inertial navigation system An inertial navigation system (INS; also inertial guidance system, inertial instrument) is a navigation device that uses motion sensors (accelerometers), rotation sensors (gyroscopes) and a computer to continuously calculate by dead reckoning th ...

(INS) and

satellite navigation A satellite navigation or satnav system is a system that uses satellites to provide autonomous geopositioning. A satellite navigation system with global coverage is termed global navigation satellite system (GNSS). , four global systems are ope ...

system.

Protection

Unlike previous Chinese tanks with carousel-style autoloader, the ammunition in Type 15 is retrieved from a tail autoloader with blowout panels. The ammunition is stored in the

turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Optical microscope#Objective turret (revolver or revolving nose piece), Objective turre ...

for improved safety. The Type 15 tank features two sets of armor packages providing different tactical mobility. Standard armor package features steel armor protection with additional layers of advanced composite armor panels covering the tank turret, hull, and two sides, with additional lightweight explosive reactive armor blocks protecting the front hull. The enhanced package features thicker explosive reactive armor (ERA) blocks, in addition to the composite armor panels underneath, covering the whole tank turret and hull. ERA mounted armor-skirt and slat armor can also be mounted on the side and rear side of the tank hull for additional protection. Enhanced armor set is designed for open area battle under heavy defensive conditions. The Type 15 light tank is fitted with a laser warning sensor system to detect incoming rangefinding and anti-tank missiles, and the tank can automatically deploy smoke grenades in dischargers if the tank is being illuminated by enemy laser beam. Chinese-designed active protection system can be mounted on export-oriented VT-5 variant as per customer request. Other protective features include chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) protection, and fire suppression system. The vehicle also features oxygen generators to aid in high-altitude operations.

Mobility

The Type 15 is powered by a 1,000 hp (746 kW) electronically controlled diesel engine, with hydro-mechanical full automatic transmission. The tank is also capable of neutral steering and features hydropneumatic suspension. Due to its lighter weight, the Type 15 tank can be more easily

airlift An airlift is the organized delivery of Materiel, supplies or personnel primarily via military transport aircraft. Airlifting consists of two distinct types: strategic and tactical. Typically, strategic airlifting involves moving material lo ...

ed. Xi'an Y-20 transport planes can only carry one Type 99 tank but can carry up to two Type 15 tanks and achieve long-range deployment of 7,800 kilometers. ZTQ-15 can also be paradropped by the transport aircraft.

Operational history

During the China-India border dispute along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in June 2020, Type 15 tanks were reportedly deployed in the

Tibetan Plateau The Tibetan Plateau, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or Qingzang Plateau, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central Asia, Central, South Asia, South, and East Asia. Geographically, it is located to the north of H ...

Variants

;Type 15 / ZTQ-15: Designation for military version. ;Type 15 Armored Recovery Vehicle: Armored recovery vehicle based on Type 15 chassis. ;VT-5: Different design similar to the ZTQ-15 that is made for export. There are noticeable design differences. The driver's hatch on the VT-5 is positioned at the center front hull whereas the ZTQ-15 driver's hatch is located on the left. The upper front hull of the VT-5 is noticeably curved whereas the ZTQ-15 is straight. The modular add-on armor kits are also noticeably different. ;VT-5U: Unmanned version of the VT-5. ;VT-5BD: VT-5 light tank of Bangladesh Army

Customized variant of VT-5 made for

. The main armament 105 mm rifled gun is improved with thermal sleeve and fume extractor system. The tanks are equipped with GL-5 APS, but the remote-controlled 12.7 mm machine gun is replaced with a manual one.

Operators

; *: 500 units as of 2022. *: 20 units as of 2021.

International Institute for Strategic Studies The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is an international research institute or think tank focusing on defence and security issues. Since 1997, its headquarters have been at Arundel House in London. It has offices on four co ...

: The Military Balance 2022, p.256 * People's Liberation Army Air Force Airborne Corps ; *: 44 VT-5BD units

References

{{Post-Cold War tanks, style=wide Light tanks of the People's Republic of China Tanks with autoloaders Post–Cold War light tanks Airborne tanks Military vehicles introduced in the 2010s Norinco