Type 15 tank

Type 15 tank
Type 15 tank at Beijing exhibition hall
Type	Light tank
Place of origin	China
Service history
In service	2018–present[1]
Used by	See Operators
Production history
Manufacturer	Norinco
Produced	c. 2015–present[1]
No. built	500 [2]
Specifications
Mass	33 tonnes (standard), 36 tonnes (with armor package)[1]
Length	Gun forward: 9.2 metres (30.18 ft)[1] Hull: About 7.5 metres (24.61 ft)[3]
Width	3.3 metres (10.83 ft)[1]
Height	2.5 metres (8.20 ft)[1]
Crew	3 (commander, gunner and driver)[1]
Armor	Standard steel armor protection with additional advanced composite armor and/or explosive reactive armor package.[1]
Main armament	105mm rifled gun (38 rounds) with autoloader[1]
Secondary armament	Remotely operated weapon station armed with coaxial 12.7mm machine gun and QLZ-04 automatic grenade launcher
Engine	Electronically controlled diesel engine 8V132 with fully-automatic transmission 1000 hp (746 kW)[1]
Power/weight	30.30 hp/tonne 27.8 hp/tonne (Enhanced armor package installed)
Suspension	Hydropneumatic suspension[1]
Operational range	469 kilometres (291 mi)(without external fuel drums)[1]
Maximum speed	70 kilometres per hour (43 mph)

The Type 15 (Chinese: 15式轻型坦克; pinyin: yīwǔ shì qīngxíng tǎnkè, also designated ZTQ-15), nicknamed the Black Panther^[4] (Chinese: 黑豹; pinyin: hēi bào), is a Chinese third generation light tank family operated by the People's Liberation Army Ground Force, People's Liberation Army Navy Marine Corps, and People's Liberation Army Air Force Airborne Corps. The tank has also been exported to the Bangladesh Army. It is the effective successor to the Type 62 light tank that was retired from the Chinese army in 2013.^[3] The export version of the tank is known as VT-5.