HIT reveals new information on Al Khalid-I MBT

[Donatello]

AK has deep innovations/ modifications in every system. I dont see MBT 3000 influence on AKxx in any way. That would be like going back to drawing board and customise the AK2 similar to how HIT did with MBT-2000 to make it AK. As it stands today, AK has 65-70 tech directly coming from HIT and her subsidiaries and remaining from foreign countries UK, France, Germany etc.

AK is a very superior tank if we look at the conventional weapons of the enemy we have to face. But 300 firm number in service is too low to make that quality count. Regardless of how many features AK has, a tank is still limited in the conventional warfare due to the increasing number of lethal and accurate anti-tank weapons that the enemy is fielding. And if they score a hit on AK or any other tank in the world, they would seriously damage or take out the AK. So we have to have a numbers parity as well along with the quality.

 

[Dazzler]

AK is a very superior tank if we look at the conventional weapons of the enemy we have to face. But 300 firm number in service is too low to make that quality count. Regardless of how many features AK has, a tank is still limited in the conventional warfare due to the increasing number of lethal and accurate anti-tank weapons that the enemy is fielding. And if they score a hit on AK or any other tank in the world, they would seriously damage or take out the AK. So we have to have a numbers parity as well along with the quality.

Armour strike corps works well if backed by proper aircover, without adequate coverage, no tank or mechanized formation is gonna stay in the battleground for long.

 

[Xracer]

Still We have to wait

 

[Donatello]

Armour strike corps works well if backed by proper aircover, without adequate coverage, no tank or mechanized formation is gonna stay in the battleground for long.

That is true, plus there is the artillery providing firecover to prevent the enemy from coming within the firing range of their anti tank weapons, but still. A larger contingent of AKs would have a devastating effect.

Air cover will mostly be by PAF, but it too would thin since it has to coordinate the assets for Air to Ground, Air to Air (biggest commitment) and Air to Sea roles. So Pakistan Army should be self sufficient to be the least.

 

[Viper0011.]

Air cover will mostly be by PAF, but it too would thin since it has to coordinate the assets for Air to Ground, Air to Air (biggest commitment) and Air to Sea roles. So Pakistan Army should be self sufficient to be the least.

What you guys need are a few dedicated ground support Army aviation jet and heliborn squadrons. Without that, your artiliary and tanks could turn into sittign ducks due to large numbers of Indian jets.
There are over 200's of the SU's around the Pakistani airspace so I think the PAF will be busy dealing with those. If a few squadrons of Army aviation jets and choppers can be raised, it can actually take a LOT of pressure off PAF and can put a LOT of pressure back on the Indian side, no matter how big the IA becomes. Forcemultipliers can do magic!! You guys can modify K-8's or T-series to carry ground support munitions and put your Griffo radars in them to support limited BVR (like 30-40 KM which Griffo's can support right now). This way, you can provide ground cover, yet keep the inbound jets on the bay or engaged in case proper PAF air umbrella is missing or late. That happens a lot when the numbers are limited.

 

[Quwa]

How about picking up some gunships in the form of CN-235 or MC-27? Modifying the K-8 or acquiring something like L-159 for close air support and attack could also help.

 

[Gryphon]

Daksg Nakra, Kuala Lumpur - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
22 April 2014

Officials from Pakistan's Heavy Industries Taxila (HIT) disclosed new information about the greatly anticipated Al Khalid-Improved (I) main battle tank (MBT) during the recent DSA 2014 exhibition held in Kuala Lumpur.

Brigadier Ghulam Murtaza Qureshi (rtd), HIT's director of budget, marketing and procurement, told IHS Jane's that the development is being fast-tracked and the company plans to showcase the tank during the International Defence Exhibition and Seminar 2014 (IDEAS 2014) in Islamabad in December.

The development of the new MBT began earlier in the decade and Qureshi said it is around 50% complete. Some reports suggested it was being co-developed with China's NORINCO and was a version of China's MBT-3000.

Qureshi claimed this was incorrect and that the Al Khalid-I is an indigenous development of Pakistan's mainstay tank, the Al Khalid, which was jointly developed in the early 1990s with NORINCO (known in China as the MBT-2000) and commissioned in 2001.

The Pakistan Army's Armoured Corps operates about 420 Al Khalid MBTs, along with Al Zarrar (Type 59/59M), Type 69, Type 85 IIAP and T-80UD tanks. The Al Khalid-I will replace approximately 300 Type 85s and 320 T-80s, which are known to operate in semi-desert and desert areas of the country.

The existing Al Khalid is powered by a Ukrainian 6TD-2 power pack developing a maximum power of 1,200 bhp. It also features integrated battle management, auto transmission control, muzzle reference and active threat protection systems.

Qureshi added that the design concept of the Al Khalid-I is primarily based on further refining and improving mobility, firepower and protection. Initially, the design featured around 10 major changes over the Al Khalid hull, but due to rising costs and budgetary constraints, this has been reduced to six.

These include a new 1,500 bhp power pack to improve its power-to-weight ratio and a digital driver manual. The HIT official confirmed that it would retain the 125 mm smoothbore barrel. As of April 2014, trials are under way to finalise the new power pack. These details concur with comments at IDEAS 2012 by a senior official at Pakistan's Ministry of Defence Procurement who told said that an improved version would feature a more powerful diesel power pack, improved command and control and better night-fighting capabilities.

HIT plans to complete trials of the Al Khalid-I with the Pakistani Army by the first quarter of 2015 and based on results, it is hoping to achieve low rate initial production by June 2015. HIT currently has the capability to roll out 20-40 Al Khalid MBTs a year, suggesting it will look to achieve a similar production schedule for the improved version.

(435 words)

 

[Dazzler]

Daksg Nakra, Kuala Lumpur - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
22 April 2014

Officials from Pakistan's Heavy Industries Taxila (HIT) disclosed new information about the greatly anticipated Al Khalid-Improved (I) main battle tank (MBT) during the recent DSA 2014 exhibition held in Kuala Lumpur.

Brigadier Ghulam Murtaza Qureshi (rtd), HIT's director of budget, marketing and procurement, told IHS Jane's that the development is being fast-tracked and the company plans to showcase the tank during the International Defence Exhibition and Seminar 2014 (IDEAS 2014) in Islamabad in December.

The development of the new MBT began earlier in the decade and Qureshi said it is around 50% complete. Some reports suggested it was being co-developed with China's NORINCO and was a version of China's MBT-3000.

Qureshi claimed this was incorrect and that the Al Khalid-I is an indigenous development of Pakistan's mainstay tank, the Al Khalid, which was jointly developed in the early 1990s with NORINCO (known in China as the MBT-2000) and commissioned in 2001.

The Pakistan Army's Armoured Corps operates about 420 Al Khalid MBTs, along with Al Zarrar (Type 59/59M), Type 69, Type 85 IIAP and T-80UD tanks. The Al Khalid-I will replace approximately 300 Type 85s and 320 T-80s, which are known to operate in semi-desert and desert areas of the country.

The existing Al Khalid is powered by a Ukrainian 6TD-2 power pack developing a maximum power of 1,200 bhp. It also features integrated battle management, auto transmission control, muzzle reference and active threat protection systems.

Qureshi added that the design concept of the Al Khalid-I is primarily based on further refining and improving mobility, firepower and protection. Initially, the design featured around 10 major changes over the Al Khalid hull, but due to rising costs and budgetary constraints, this has been reduced to six.

These include a new 1,500 bhp power pack to improve its power-to-weight ratio and a digital driver manual. The HIT official confirmed that it would retain the 125 mm smoothbore barrel. As of April 2014, trials are under way to finalise the new power pack. These details concur with comments at IDEAS 2012 by a senior official at Pakistan's Ministry of Defence Procurement who told said that an improved version would feature a more powerful diesel power pack, improved command and control and better night-fighting capabilities.

HIT plans to complete trials of the Al Khalid-I with the Pakistani Army by the first quarter of 2015 and based on results, it is hoping to achieve low rate initial production by June 2015. HIT currently has the capability to roll out 20-40 Al Khalid MBTs a year, suggesting it will look to achieve a similar production schedule for the improved version.

(435 words)

its al khalid 2 in the works..

 

[Kompromat]

 

[Hassan_Ishtiaq]

HIT plans to complete trials of the Al Khalid-I with the Pakistani Army by the first quarter of 2015 and based on results, it is hoping to achieve low rate initial production by June 2015. HIT currently has the capability to roll out 20-40 Al Khalid MBTs a year, suggesting it will look to achieve a similar production schedule for the improved version.

(435 words)

So this means that the Al-Khalid I is not currently in operational service with the Pak Army??

 

[Bilal.]

its al khalid 2 in the works..

Hope the remaining 4 improvements are introduced later on as upgrades...

 

[Omega007]

Even basic AK surpasses Arjun.. Discussed to death in Pak armour thread.

Height of delusions.

 

[Kompromat]

 

[AUz]

Height of delusions.

There are no delusions there.

This has been discussed by senior members from both sides.

Al Khalid-1 easily surpasses Arjun...and is right up there with Arjun-II.

Basically, there are three basic categories of tanks.

Armor
Mobility
Firepower.

Al Khalid-1 surpasses Arjun in mobility and firepower. Arjun scores well in armor.

 

[syedali73]

View attachment 46351

What are those vertical cylinder like structures?