Pakistan acquires Chinese VT-4 tanks

Chinese media have reported that the first VT-4 tanks for Pakistan are ready for shipping. If the acquisition is confirmed this country would become the third operator after Thailand and Nigeria.

VT-4 (MBT-3000 for export) was designed by Norinco as an evolution of Type-90-II and incorporating technology from Type-99, which is the most advanced tank in People's Liberation Army (PLA).

Pakistan had also evaluated Ukraine's T-84M Oplot. No details have been provided on the reasons for choosing the VT-4, but Ukraine has struggled to manufacture Oplot in series. It is also very likely that China offered better financing.

In terms of performance, VT-4 is comparable with Western and Russian types. It has a 125mm gun, ERA and composite armour and a 1,200 HP engine. The commander has a panoramic sight with a thermal camera.

References:

- https://bmpd.livejournal.com/4001791.html

China sells 300 UAVs to Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has acquired 300 Chinese UAVs Wing Loong II. The information was provided by the  Chinese news agency Xinhua at the end of February. This is the largest contract ever signed for a Chinese UAV. No details have been provided on deliveries or cost. In the last few years China has invested heavily in UAVs, showing many new designs at the last Zuhai Air Show (link).

The Wing-Loong II, which bears a striking simularity to the MQ-9 Reaper has a payload of 400 kg, and endurance of 32 hours and a top speed of 370 km/h. The ceiling is 9000 meters.

References:

- http://bmpd.livejournal.com/2501840.html

- http://defence-blog.com/ 

Zhuhai 2016 air show

Zhuhai 2016 air show was held last week end. The first edition took place in 1996 and it has been growing importance since then. The 5th generation fighter J-20 got most of the attention, as it was being shown in public for the first time. I was surprised by the amount of UAV designs and the range of applications.

Chinese aircraft performance has always been a subject of debate. This year was no exception, especially because 24 Su-35 have been acquired from Russia. I think that currently the Chinese military aerospace industry is not at the same level, but it will be a world player on the medium term. The government has been investing huge amounts of money and there is plenty of political support. Something similar happens with the civilian sector, which can rely on the huge internal market.

J-20.

Z-10K.

Y-20.

Red Arrows.

 CH-5 UAV.

CH-500 UAV.

 CH-805 UAV.

KJ-200.

AG600 amphibious aircraft.

 JF-17.

 QY-1 UAV.

SW-6 UAV.

J-20 simulator (to be confirmed).

Airbus A350.

Project of wide body airliners, to be designed with UAC (Russia)

References:

- http://www.popsci.com/