Peru confirms it has bought Chinese tanks but does not specify quantity and price
11/12/2009 (Infodefensa.com) Lima - Peru's President Alan García, confirmed that his government has acquired last-generation tanks model MBT 2000 to the PRC but declined to say how many or the economic cost of the transaction represents the first major arms sales to Beijing in Latin America.
A journalists' questions, Garcia defended the Defense Ministry's decision to choose Chinese tanks models ahead of Russians, Germans, Poles and Ukrainians and called it "very successful" and even said that the five who participated in the parade National on 8 December were already Peruvian property having been acquired.
"We have signed up a pre-agreement for making initial payments," said the president who said the purchase management has taken shape through the mediation of President of the Republic of China, Hu Jintao, who apparently participated the operation in the sense of achieving a significant reduction in the payment and on payment deadlines.
In any case, said the armored acquired, manufactured by the Chinese state company Norinco, are of high technology "and the tenders submitted by Beijing has" a lot lower price than other tenders "filed and that therefore the appropriate answer to replace the Russian T-55 tanks bought in 1974 and being discharged for their limited operational state.
"This is compensated for having discharged such tanks to have a deterrent weapon that these tanks are high technology, as mentioned, are not only fire power up to four miles, but that can launch missiles at 50 miles away something that has no other tank in the market, "he said.
Garcia refused, however, elaborate on the economic cost of the operation period and the number of units acquired, considering that discuss these topics was "irresponsible" because it affects national security. He even estimate "unpatriotic" report the matter pending a secret session on it at the Congressional Defense Committee.
For its part, the Defense Ministry, Rafael Rey, discarded, and the purchase of these tanks have been hasty and invited journalists to see the documents that exist in relation to the assessment process, involving other types of armor.
King noted that both technicians and others who had analyzed the various candidates had found the MBT 2000 (Type 90-IIM) was the best alternative for economic, technological and durability.
The defense minister stressed that these tanks have the required technical conditions in Peru. "There may be more sophisticated tanks and eventually, perhaps, better equipped, but are not within the economic possibilities," he said.
It also dismissed that it was "a tactic or strategy" that have been exhibited during the military parade and explained that this decision was made to show the material was acquired.
"It has given much importance to the tanks, but has not given importance to hunt tanks and antitank missiles that it has been acquired and are very important," he said.
The defense minister also said that the buying process is not contradictory or incompatible with the Peruvian initiative to curb the arms race in the region.
On the other hand, the minister said that King is not yet taken the decision to acquire Super Tucano aircraft, but expects that this issue be determined soon as it would be most useful in both the internal and external front.
More than 500 million dollars
The Peruvian government has been considering for months the acquisition of between 80 and 140 new tanks at an early stage although the operation depends on the budget of the Ministry of Defense that is predicted to grow by 27 percent next year. According to some sources, the operation could be around $ 500 million and would like to replace the current fleet of 50 T-55M1 Leon and 96 AMX-13PA · Scorpio.
According to official sources, experts outside Peru Peruvian assessed different models of tanks, including the German Leopard 2 A6, Russian T-90S and M-84M Serbian and the Ukrainian T-84 Oplot and T-84-120 Yatagan.
Co-designed by China and Pakistan
The MBT 2000 (Type 90-IIM) is a modern tank jointly developed by China and Pakistan, where it is called Al-Khalid "and is in service since 2001 in both armed forces. It has a crew of three men and a cannon of 125 mm smoothbore stabilized with mechanical loader.
Based on Soviet T-54 is designed to allow for manufacturing a variety of diesel engines and transmission-6TD-2de kmdb 1200hp and SESMA ESM500 five-speed (automatic), respectively. In the case of Peru, has been offered with both types of Ukrainian origin and adaptable to the needs of the Peruvian Army.
It measures 10 meters long, 3.5 wide and 2.4 tall and has a combat weight of 48 tons, slightly less than their Western counterparts. It has a top speed of 65 km and a range of 450 kilometers. The secondary armament consists of two machine guns, one 12.7 mm anti-aircraft with 500 cartridges and a 7.62 coaxial with 2,500 cartridges
Original in Spanish
Perú confirma que ha comprado tanques chinos pero no aclara cantidad ni precio - infodefensa.com - Información Defensa y Seguridad
