According to correspondents of Chinese specialized military-technical publications, the command of the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JDF) at the end of 2016 adopted the latest wheeled tank under the designation "Type-16". The model is intended for staffing in the period from 2016 to 2025. six divisions and four brigades of the ground forces, which are planned to be reformed on the model of the Brigade combat team Stryker (Brigade combat team Stryker) US Army SV.
Wheeled tank " Type 16"
The concept of "wheeled tank" is most often found in the media to refer to this type of Japanese military equipment. In fact, it is equivalent to the English-language term "Mobile combat Vehicles" (MVC). In addition, the concepts of "infantry support fire vehicle", or "wheeled assault gun" (KSHO) are used. The latter designation is given in the Chinese specialized magazine "Tanks and Armored Vehicles".
In this article, for reasons of search engine optimization, the term "wheeled tank"prevails.
Designers and engineers of such Japanese companies of the national defense industry complex as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Electric, Yokokawa, Fujitsu Limited and Nippon Electric Corporation (NEC) participated in the development of the Type 16 model. The sector responsible for designing and manufacturing hard drives has been completely bought out by a Chinese company from NEC.
Wheeled tank "Type 16" - TTH and armor protection
According to Chinese sources, the Type 16 wheeled assault gun has the following size and weight characteristics:
length-8.45 m;
width-2.98 m;
height-2.87 m;
curb weight-26 tons.
It seems possible to agree with the estimates of Chinese experts that Japanese gunsmiths could not create a car easier than the American M1128 "Stryker" (curb weight 18.7 tons; with an automatic gun of 105 mm caliber).
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| M1128 "Stryker". |
| Source: invoen.ru |
KSHO Firepower
As the main means of fire destruction, the Type 16 wheeled tank is equipped with a 105 mm gun with a barrel length of 52 caliber. The gun was developed by Japanese specialists on the basis of the British tank gun L7A1. Previously, such a gun was installed on medium tanks "Type 74", which formed the basis of armored units of the armed forces of Japan.
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| Japanese medium tank "Type 74". |
| Source: invoen.ru |
It should be noted that, unlike the original version of the gun, Japanese specialists moved the device for removing powder gases from the barrel closer to the turret. We upgraded the heat shield of the gun and developed a new muzzle brake-compensator.
Unlike the main battle tanks "Type 90" and "Type 10" (as of the fourth quarter of 2016, only 600 tanks), the wheeled tank in question does not have an automatic loader, although Japanese designers have mastered this mechanism. As a result of this decision, three places had to be allocated in one inhabited tower – for the commander (on the left side of the tower), the gunner (on the right side of the tower) and the loader (in the center).
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| Japanese OBT tank "Type 90". |
| Source: invoen.ru |
It is known that for this gun in Japan, two models of ammunition are produced: a multifunctional high-explosive shell "type 91" and a sub-caliber armor-piercing feathered shell "type 93". The latter at a range of 2000 m allows you to break through a sheet of homogeneous armor with a thickness of 414 mm.
For the use of the considered gun in the turret of the armored vehicle, a fire control system is installed, which is borrowed from the main battle tank "Type 10". The system includes: a ballistic computer (computer), a gunner's optical sight, an all-round sight for the commander, two laser rangefinders, a laser radiation sensor and a wind sensor.
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| Japanese OBT "Type 10". |
| Source: invoen.ru |
To combat light vehicles, helicopters or enemy infantry, the Type 16 wheeled tank is additionally equipped with a heavy 12.7 mm M2NV machine gun and a paired 7.62 mm Type 74 machine gun. The fire from these weapons of destruction is conducted by the commander and the gunner, respectively. It should be noted that the Japanese designers did not offer a remote fire control module for the heavy machine gun.
Wheeled tank "Type 16" - maneuverability
To drive this armored vehicle, a four-cylinder four-stroke diesel engine with a turbine is installed in the front part of the hull. The maximum power reaches 570 hp (419 kW), i.e. the power/weight ratio is 21.9 hp/ton. Although the specific power corresponds to the world average for wheeled armored vehicles, however, for a tracked combat vehicle, such power will clearly not be enough.
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| Wheeled tank "Type 16". |
| Source: invoen.ru |
The torque from the engine to the wheels is transmitted by a hydraulic automatic transmission. It allows you to reach a maximum speed of 100 km / h when driving on the highway. It is obvious that Japanese strategists make a special bet on the speed of movement of armored vehicles in modern combat. It is known that each wheel has an independent " V " - shaped suspension, and the front four wheels are pivoting. It should be noted that the Japanese designers have installed a central system for pumping the wheels, which helps when overcoming soft soils
Disadvantages of combat use
Chinese military analysts pay attention to the following points.
First, like most Japanese-made heavy armored vehicles, the Type 16 wheeled tank does not have positive buoyancy and is not equipped with appropriate propulsion systems. Therefore, it is impossible to use it in the course of amphibious operations. In addition, in the conditions of the rocky (sharp stones of large size) coastal line of most of the southern islands of the Japanese archipelago, the use of such wheeled armored vehicles is associated with mass failures of the transmission, suspension and other components and assemblies.
Secondly, the operational transfer of these KSHO is possible only by military transport aircraft C-2 (HS-2) of Japanese production, which can lift only one wheeled tank "Type 16" without any additional cargo. According to the Chinese specialized military-technical publication "Aviation Knowledge", the XIA invested about 2.3 billion US dollars in the development of this model of the aircraft. However, now a contract has been signed for only 11 such aircraft, which will not allow even one Type 16 armored vehicle to be transferred.
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| C-2 transport aircraft of the Japanese Air Force. |
| Source: invoen.ru |
Third, Japanese-made ammunition has a weak penetration capability. The Type 16 wheeled tank does not have 105 mm guided anti-tank missiles in its ammunition. As a result, its crew will only be able to fight medium or light tanks or floating armored personnel carriers (IFVs). Such equipment makes up a large part of the fleet of armored vehicles of the marine units of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLA).
Operational assessment
According to the" Manual on tactics of armored units " of the Japan Self – Defense Forces, the commanders of units occupying defensive positions on the coastal line should be prepared for the fact that a likely enemy-the PLA will create a three-fold superiority in equipment in the main areas of attack.
According to the calculations of the general staff of the XIA, the Chinese amphibious forces will be able to land up to 50 light floating tanks in one direction at most. With such an assessment of the enemy's amphibious forces, Japanese strategists and tacticians believe that from 200 to 300 KSHO "Type 16", 1200 main battle tanks "Type 90" and "Type 10" will be quite enough for a full-fledged defense of all amphibious areas of Japan.
Based on the materials of the magazine: "Tanks and armored vehicles". Beijing. Publishing House of the China Arms Industrial Corporation.