The VT-2 tank was successfully exported and became the latest equipment of the Tanzanian Army. It will be used on the African continent

On December 9, 2021, Tanzania held a grand ceremony to celebrate the 60th anniversary of its independence, and displayed its newly purchased VT-2 export tanks at the ceremony.

Using a tank trailer to pull the parade is probably to save precious motorcycle time.

Tanzania is nicknamed "Tanheishu" on the Chinese Internet. It has had good diplomatic relations with my country since the 1960s. Military exchanges and cooperation between the two countries began in 1964, and bilateral exchanges are frequent. The Tanzanian National Defense Force has a deep relationship with the People's Liberation Army, which is a good story that military fans love to talk about. The defeat of the Ugandan-Libyan coalition in 1978 made the Tanzanian army famous, and China-Tanzania relations have become a typical example of my country-Africa friendly relations. Many officers of the Tanzanian army have studied in Chinese military academies and speak fluent Chinese. For example, on November 14, 2014, China and Tanzania organized the "Beyond-2014" joint training of the Marine Corps in Dar es Salaam. The Tanzanian generals shouted "start" in a standard Shandong accent to announce the start of the training.

To this day, the Tanzanian National Defense Force is still a very capable army in sub-Saharan Africa.

The China-Tanzania joint training, codenamed "Sincere Partners-2019", was held at a comprehensive training center in Tanzania. This is the first joint training between the two armies after the "Beyond-2014" joint training between the Chinese and Tanzanian marines. Tanzanian soldiers wearing 02-style helmets and holding 81-1 automatic rifles during the exercise.

As such, the Tanzanian Army naturally has many Chinese weapons, including Type 63A light amphibious tanks, A100M multiple rocket launchers, 07PA self-propelled mortars, FB-6A vehicle-mounted mobile short-range air defense missile weapon systems, as well as Type 79 and Type 84A pontoon bridge vehicles, WZ-551 armored vehicles, 59G tanks, F-7MG fighter jets, K-8 trainer aircraft, FN-6 air defense missiles, Type 037 patrol boats, etc.

Although we can't say that all of them are hit, the proportion is still quite high.

Therefore, the Tanzanian army's import of VT-2 tanks was not a big deal. The author was mainly surprised that the VT-2 (96A) tanks were actually sold.

The VT-2 tank is the export version of my country's 96A tank, with almost no difference.

The Type 96A MBT is still one of the main battle equipment of the PLA Army. It is equipped in large quantities and has good performance. The author is surprised that it can be exported. It is not because the performance of the Type 96A is not good enough, but because its positioning in the foreign trade market is awkward, stuck between the VT-1/MBT-2000 MBT and various Type 59 improved tanks.

Strictly speaking, the Type 96A tank is an "ultimate second-generation tank". It is the Type 80 tank, which is the result of the development of the first-line of my country's second-generation tank "technology tree". To put it simply, it is an upgraded second-generation tank chassis with a third-generation tank turret added, which gives it the firepower of a third-generation tank, but its mobility is worse. When my country participated in the Russian "Tank Biathlon" for the first time in 2014, the Type 96A tank could not outrun the Russian T-72B3M (called Mod 2014 at the time, and it is not the same vehicle as the B3M we are talking about now) in terms of laps, but it performed very well in the dynamic-to-static design. Unlike the T-72 series tanks that almost had to stop to fire, it fired smoothly while moving.

The Type 96A tank performed so well in shooting at that time that the Russian side later made some changes to the project.

There is certainly no problem with this for personal use, but for foreign trade, 96A is stuck here.

In comparison, China's 59G-125 tank is an upgrade of the 59 tank. It is equipped with the firepower system and engine of the 96 tank, so that the 59 tank can be used as a 96 tank, and it is much cheaper. After all, strictly speaking, it is just an upgrade kit.

Poly's 59G-125 tank, this turret is really rounded to a 96A tank

Bangladesh's "Dujoy" tank is the technical line of North Industries, which is almost the same

Let's compare them. There is the VT-1/MBT-2000, a standard third-generation export tank, which has better firepower, protection and mobility than the VT-2/96A tank. Moreover, as a standard third-generation tank, its price is not much more expensive than the VT-2/96A tank, because the VT-1 is an entry-level standard third-generation tank, and the high-end third-generation tank is the VT-4. If you want a light tank, you can go for the VT-5.

Pakistan's VT-1/MBT-2000

To put it bluntly, the VT-2 tank has an awkward positioning. It is easy to "pay more for the VT-1" or "cheaper 59 modified tanks", and the target customer group is small. Moreover, the 96A has been discontinued in China and switched to 96B, so it is probably difficult to find a new tank.

The VT-2B/96B is a completely new tank, equipped with a 1,000-horsepower engine and a new transmission. It is a completely new 40-ton third-generation tank.

Tanzania’s purchase is certainly a good thing. It is probably because they are already using 59G-125 and need to upgrade their firepower, but they are still short of money, so they chose the mediocre VT-2.

This is not a bad thing. I actually hope to see the Type 96B tank equipped to the troops as soon as possible.

There are many test drive pictures, but I have never seen the equipment.