ZTZ98 (Type 98) Main Battle Tank

Last updated: 26 October 2007

The ZTZ98 (Type 98) is a pre-production variant of China’s third-generation main battle tank (MBT) programme. The tank first appeared during the 1999 military parade in Beijing marking the 50th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Although the ZTZ98 did not enter batch production, the design later evolved into the ZTZ99 (Type 99) MBT, which finally entered operational service with the PLA ground forces in 2001.

Compared to previous Chinese-developed MBTs, the ZTZ98 represented significant improvements in protection, mobility, and fire-control system. The tank is armed with a 125mm smoothbore main gun fed by an autoloader, possibly of Soviet Union or Russian origin, allowing the crew of the tank to be reduced to three men. The tank was the first Chinese MBT to be fitted with a stabilised independent sight of the commander, and a fully-stabilised gunner sight with a thermal image system.

The ZTZ98 has a box-shape welded turret, which can be found on most of the Chinese MBTs introduced in the 1990s, such as the ZTZ96 (Type 96 or Type 88C) and Type 90-II MBT. The turret has two large vertically faced front armour arrays, fitted with lifting bolts for fast removal or upgrade of the armour plating. The hull and turret are protected by composite armour plating. The rear half of the turret is surrounded by storage racks, which not only offer extra places for the crew to store their equipment but also provides additional protections against HEAT projectiles.

With a combat weight of 51 tonnes, the ZTZ98 tank is powered by a Chinese indigenous 150HB 1,200hp diesel, giving a maximum road speed of 70km/h.