TSAMTO, December 12th. The Chinese corporation NORINCO (China North Industries Corporation) presented to the Armed Forces of Colombia a project for the supply of VT4 main battle tanks (MBT-3000).
As reported by Infodefensa.com, the Colombian Ground Forces were proposed, in particular, to form the first armored unit consisting of up to 44 third-generation VT4 MBT (tank battalion).
In general, the delegation of the NORINCO corporation, which visited Colombia in the first decade of December, proposed to supply this South American country with a wide range of armored vehicles: MBT, light tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, self-propelled artillery installations, armored vehicles with mine protection (MRAP). In addition, the proposal presented various tools that can be easily integrated or equipped with cavalry and motorized infantry units of the Colombian army, including to increase firepower.
The VT4 MBT offered by Colombia is equipped with an active GL5 protection system, eight smoke and four anti-personnel grenade launchers are also used as countermeasures. The weight of the MBT is 53 tons, it is equipped with an electronically controlled turbocharged engine with a capacity of 1300 hp, a suspension with a torsion bar system that provides speeds up to 70 km/h (40 km/h over rough terrain), a power reserve of more than 500 km.
China's main competitor in the Colombian market is the United States. As already reported by CAMTO, in May 2022, the Colombian Armed Forces turned to the United States with a request for the possibility of purchasing the M1A2 Abrams MBT from the presence of the US Army as part of the modernization of the fleet of armored vehicles of the country's Ground Forces (Colombia is on its way to obtaining the status of the main US ally outside NATO: in March 2022, Joe Biden announced that this procedure has started).
Currently, there are no main battle tanks in service with the Armed Forces of Colombia. The main armored vehicle is the BBM EE-9 "Cascavel" of the Brazilian company Engesa, equipped with a 90 mm cannon. 123 armored vehicles of this type were purchased in the 1980s.
Plans for the purchase of at least 50 main battle tanks for the Colombian Army were first made public about 20 years ago. The growing attention to the modernization of the conventional weapons fleet has emerged after decades of priority attention to equipping military hardware to combat terrorism, insurgency and drug trafficking.
One of the factors driving these efforts is tensions with neighboring Venezuela, which has purchased modern military equipment from Russia and China over the past two decades, including main battle tanks and Su-30 fighter jets.
The Colombian Ministry of Defense does not officially comment on plans to purchase new weapons, but the status of the main US ally outside NATO will provide the country with expanded opportunities to purchase military hardware under various programs.
According to the US Department of State, in the period from 2001 to 2016. Colombia has received $10 billion in U.S. military assistance to combat insurgency and drug trafficking. In 2017, Colombia became the first NATO partner country in Latin America, and in 2021 signed a new agreement on deepening and expanding cooperation with the alliance.