GUNS & AMMO
The Al-Khalid is essentially a hybrid tank design with
systems, armament and subsystems originating from
a variety of global sources though the tank system itself, as a whole, is a locally-produced product native to
Pakistan. Its indirect lineage can be traced back to the
Soviet Cold War-era T-54 series while its direct lineage
stems from the Chinese NORINCO Type 90-II main
battle tank. Additionally, engines are of Ukrainian origin while production is handled within Pakistan. In most
respects, the Al-Khalid can be viewed as the "ultimate"
evolution of the successful Soviet T-54 system.Design
on the Al-Khalid ran through most of the 1990's to which
the system was then known as the "MBT 2000". Design
was handled on both the part of NORINCO Factory 617
of China and Heavy Industries Taxila (HIT) of Pakistan
with a partnership officially inked in January of 1990.
Prototypes appeared the following year and went into
evaluation. At the core of the new tank design was to
be ease-of-production, a system that could readily accept the use of foreign powerpacks.There appeared four
major prototypes designated simply as P1, P2, P3 and
P4. Each was differentiated mainly by their selection of
powerplants. The P1 sported the German-based MTU396 diesel engine mated to an LSG-3000 automatic
transmission.while fielding a Chinese-made 125mm
main gun, fire-control system and autoloader. The P2
was similar in scope but with a Perkins Condor 1,200
horsepower diesel engine (used in the successful British Challenger MBT series), a French SESM ESM500
(ala the Le Clerc MBT) and western-based fire-control
system. The P3 sported a Ukrainian 6TD-2 1,200 horsepower engine but essentially the P2 prototype. The P4
was given the NATO-standard 120mm main gun tied
into a western-based fire-control system along with a
German-based MTU-871/TCM AVDS-1790 diesel engine with LSG-3000 automatic transmission. The P4
was intended to become an export product for Pakistan to produce, operate and sell to other prospective
global buyers.P2's Challenger-based engine proved too
temperamental for the rigors of desert warfare and was
ultimately too expensiv