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| name              = JCh-5
| name              = JCh-5
| image              = [[File:JCh_5.png|300px]]
| image              = [[File:JCh_5.png|300px]]
| caption            = All five service variants of the JCh-5.
| caption            = Early variants of the JCh-5.
| origin            = {{flag|Menghe}}
| origin            = [[Menghe]]
| type              = {{wp|Main_battle_tank|main battle tank}}
| type              = {{wp|Main_battle_tank|Main battle tank}}
<!-- Type selection -->
<!-- Type selection -->
| is_ranged          =  
| is_ranged          =  
Line 15: Line 15:
<!-- Service history -->
<!-- Service history -->
| service            = 1979-present
| service            = 1979-present
| used_by            = [[Menghean Army]]
| used_by            = [[Azbekistan]]<br>[[Menghe]]<br>[[Ummayah]]
| wars              = [[Ummayan Civil War]]<br/>
| wars              = [[Ummayan Civil War]]<br/>
[[Innominadan Crisis]]
[[Innominadan Crisis]]<br>
[[Innominadan Uprising]]<br>
[[Second Pan-Septentrion War]]
<!-- Production history -->
<!-- Production history -->
| designer          =  
| designer          =  
| design_date        = 1975-1979
| design_date        = 1975-1979
| manufacturer      = Inmin-Chŏlgang-Nodongja Vehicle Plant
| manufacturer      = Chikai Heavy Machine Building Plant<br>Insŏng Machine Building Plant
| unit_cost          =  
| unit_cost          =  
| production_date    = 1979-2008
| production_date    = 1979-2007
| number            = at least 24,000
| number            = 8,593
| variants          = JCh-5G, JCh-5N, JCh-5D, JCh-5R, JCh-5M, JCh-5/6
| variants          = [[JCh-5.5]]
<!-- General specifications -->
<!-- General specifications -->
| spec_label        = JCh-5D
| spec_label        = JCh-5D
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}}
}}


The '''JCh-5''' ([[Menghean_Army_designation_scheme#Formal_designation|formal designation]]: 5호 주력 전차 / 五號主力戰車, ''O-ho juryŏk jŏncha'', "No.5 Main Battle Tank;" [[Menghean_Army_designation_scheme#Short_designation|short designation]] 전차-5, ''Jŏncha-o'') is a second-generation {{wp|Main_battle_tank|main battle tank}} introduced in the [[Democratic People's Republic of Menghe]] and inherited by the [[Menghe|Socialist Republic of Menghe]]. Though initially based on the [[Letnia]]n '''T-66''', later variants diverged considerably from the original design, and the JCh-5 is regarded as a completely separate model of armored fighting vehicle. It is also considered Menghe’s first advanced MBT, and its general design philosophy – a three-man crew, a low profile, and a 125mm autoloading gun – would be followed by later Menghean MBTs such as the [[JCh-6]] and [[JCh-8]].
The '''JCh-5''' ([[Menghean_Army_designation_scheme#Formal_designation|formal designation]]: 5호 주력 전차 / 五號主力戰車, ''O-ho juryŏk jŏncha'', "No.5 Main Battle Tank;" [[Menghean_Army_designation_scheme#Short_designation|short designation]] 전차-5, ''Jŏncha-o'') is a {{wp|Main_battle_tank|main battle tank}} introduced in the [[Democratic People's Republic of Menghe]] and inherited by the [[Menghe|Socialist Republic of Menghe]]. Though based on the [[Kolodoria]]n {{wp|T-64}}, it was specially modified to satisfy Menghean reliability requirements, and later followed its own upgrade and development trajectory. With a three-man crew, a low profile, and a 125mm autoloading gun, it introduced many features that would be emulated by later Menghean main battle tanks such as the [[JCh-6]] and [[JCh-8]].


==T-66==
A total of 8,593 JCh-5 tanks of all variants were produced in Menghe between 1979 and 2007, making the JCh-5 second most widely-produced tank in Menghe after the [[JCh-4]]. Along with the JCh-4, it is still widely used by Menghean reservist units, though in active units it has been fully replaced by the JCh-6 and JCh-8. Most JCh-5s in Menghe have been upgraded with improved fire-control systems, {{wp|reactive armour}}, and the ability to fire gun-launched {{wp|anti-tank guided missile}}s, and some have been rebuilt into [[JCh-5.5]] tanks.
[[File:Letnia_T-66.png|400px|thumb|left|Variants of the Letnian T-66, from which the JCh-5 was developed.]]During the early 1960s, the main tank used by Socialist countries was the T-58, license-produced in Menghe as the [[JCh-3]]. With its dome turret and 100mm gun, it was fairly advanced at the time of its introduction, but two decades later its shortcomings were becoming apparent. This was especially true with regard to its main armament and its armor.


Beginning in the late 1950s, design teams in [[Letnia]] began work on a revolutionary new tank design which would represent the new generation after the T-58. In its final form, this tank carried a 125mm gun and was fairly well-protected, with rudimentary {{wp|Composite_armour|composite armor}} on the glacis plate and turret front. On top of this, it also had a lower overall profile, and a higher top speed, making it a true main battle tank rather than a medium or heavy tank. This balance of capabilities was achieved through the use of a carousel autoloader on the turret floor, which reduced the crew to three and allowed for a smaller protected volume. Speed was improved through a compact opposed-piston engine, which fit into an engine compartment smaller than that of the T-58.
==Development==
===T-64 evaluation===
After the outbreak of the [[Vinyan War]] in April 1975, the [[Democratic People's Republic of Menghe]] sent observers to its communist ally [[Kolodoria]] to study the fighting, and closely followed reports from the front lines. Early clashes in the first year appeared to verify Menghean commanders' concerns that the [[JCh-2]] was an obsolete tank and the [[JCh-4]] was an insufficiently radical improvement. Menghean observers were particularly impressed by the performance of Kolodorian units with {{wp|T-64}}s, and inquired about the possibility of importing the latest model. Unwilling to divert production away from the front lines, where new tanks were urgently needed, the Kolodorian government shipped four T-64Bs to Menghe for evaluation and held out the possibility of a production license if the war did not promptly conclude.
 
Menghean crews tested and evaluated the tanks in late 1975, and identified a number of problems not present in the battlefield reports. In particular, they found the T-64's engine to be unreliable, a problem intensified by Menghean engineers who were unfamiliar with the opposed-piston design. This also resulted in concern about high production costs, particularly with Menghe facing production bottlenecks in optical equipment and electronics.
 
The Menghean Ministry of National Defense also recommended updating the tank based on combat reports from the Vinyan War. For example, the T-64's ZU-64 cupola allowed the commander to remotely control the machine gun from inside the vehicle, a feature that initially impressed Menghean designers. Actual combat experience in the Vinyan War, however, indicated that a closed mount was disadvantageous. From below armor, the commander has limited visibility at high angles, and a low chance of seeing incoming helicopters or attack aircraft. The below-armor anti-aircraft sight's narrow field of view also makes it difficult to properly lead a fast-moving target. In actual combat, tank commanders on both sides often entered battle standing or peering above the hatch to look for ATGM teams, which were also harder to spot through the periscopes. Aiming to the rear, while permitted by the 360-degree cupola ring, was impossible in practice because the commander could only sit facing forward in the cramped turret. Finally, both threats which the commander's HMG is meant to counter--namely, helicopters and ATGM teams--threaten the tank with an anti-tank guided missile, which poses the same threat to the commander whether his hatch is open or closed, and are beyond the range of small-arms fire.
 
===JCh-5G===
[[Image:JCh-5_multi-view_2022-06-09.png|400px|thumb|left|Four-view diagram of a G-model JCh-5, including a side-view cutaway and a view of the hull without the turret.]]
With Kolodorian approval, the DPRM began development on a customized variant better suited for Menghe's strategic needs. They lengthened the hull by half a meter and installed a V-12 diesel generating 660 hp. The engine was placed with the crankshaft running perpendicular to the vehicle's path of travel. Though less powerful than the T-64's 5TDF opposed-piston engine, the Menghean powerplant was easier to manufacture, more reliable, and more familiar to Menghean mechanics and engineers.
 
The design of the commander's cupola was also heavily revised, resulting in a layout similar to that of the [[Letnia]]n {{wp|T-72|T-74}}. The [[SBK machine gun|GCh-75 HMG]] is fixed to a separate race ring that runs around the outside of the cupola on a separate track. Normally, it is locked in position facing the rear. This allows the commander to independently rotate the cupola without having to also rotate the heavy and off-center machine gun. To use the machine gun, the commander opens the hatch, stands on his seat, faces the rear, and holds the HMG's manual controls. A toggle lever allows the commander to either traverse the HMG independently on its race ring while leaving the cupola fixed in place, or lock the two race rings together and traverse the HMG and cupola as a single unit. The former is better for small adjustments, and the latter for pivoting to the direction of a threat.


These revolutionary advances, however, did come at a cost. Even in its early trials, the T-66 was found to be a notoriously unreliable tank, heavy on maintenance hours in the base and prone to breakdowns in the field. The autoloader frequently jammed on early models, and several crew members sustained injuries after their clothing was caught on the rotating carousel mechanism. The opposed-piston engine was another source of difficulty, in part because it was engineered to high specifications that Letnian factories and repair crews could not consistently meet. Other problems extended to the suspension, the fire-control system, and the turret hydraulics.
Due to export limitations, and due to Menghean MoND hesitancy about introducing complex weapon systems, the capability to fire anti-tank guided missiles from the gun was omitted. Accordingly, the laser guidance block on the right side of the T-64B turret was omitted as well. The T-64B's infrared laser rangefinder, however, is retained, replacing the optical stereoscopic rangefinder in the T-64A and the JCh-4. This gives the JCh-5 considerably better accuracy than other Menghean tanks in service at the time of its introduction.


===Export Restrictions===
A number of smaller changes were incorporated as well. The co-axial PKT machine gun was replaced by a [[GCh-77]] chambered in the 7.5×54mm cartridge, for parts and ammunition commonality with other Menghean tanks. The dials, optics, controls, and other labels were replaced with [[Menghean language|Menghean-language]] versions. In all other respects, the resulting design was identical to the T-64B, retaining the base design's left-side infrared spotlight, its composite armor scheme, and its small roadwheels.
For these two reasons – the tank’s advanced character, and its disappointing performance – the Letnian government was reluctant to offer the T-66 for export, especially to its less developed allies. Rumors of the T-66's poor reliability also made Menghe reluctant to pursue an arms deal, leading instead to a focus on modernizing successive variants of the [[JCh-4]].


By the mid-1970s, however, the lack of a second-generation main battle tank was becoming a major issue in the eyes of Menghe's generals. The T-66A, introduced in 1973, solved many of the early prototype’s reliability problems, leading the Soviet military to cautiously offer up the latest variant for export. At first this seemed to satisfy Menghe’s needs, but the country's High Command remained wary of the need for further simplification, as Menghe engineers and repair crews were even less skilled than their Letnian counterparts.
A prototype built to these specifications underwent mobility and shooting trials in 1978, and quickly met state approval from the [[Ministry of National Defense (Menghe)|Ministry of National Defense]], which was impressed with their characteristics and under pressure to bring a modern MBT into service. It received the designation JCh-5G. Production began in 1979 at the Chikai Heavy Machine Building Plant in Jinjŏng.


In 1975, representatives from the two countries reached a tentative agreement by which Menghe would license-produce a T-66 variant modified to its liking. Several members of the design team were temporarily transferred to the Inmin-Chŏlgang-Nodongja Vehicle Plant's design bureau, where they provided their foreign counterparts with blueprints and technical advice. The new program, approved in 1976, was designated JCh-5 and was primarily intended to further simplify the T-66A design to make it suitable for Menghe service.
===JCh-5N===
[[Image:JCh-5N_multi-view_2022-06-09.png|400px|thumb|right|Four-view diagram of an N-model JCh-5. Compare with the JCh-6G above, and note the octagonal turret and its thicker frontal armor.]]
An improved variant, the JCh-5N, entered service early in 1985. It can be easily distinguished from the JCh-5G because of its more angular welded turret, which incorporates an entirely new composite armor scheme. The new scheme uses layered ceramic and steel plates, and is reportedly both more effective and easier to manufacture. It is also easier to maintain: the welded panels above the composite armor sections can be cut off at a forward depot or factory, allowing workers to remove the damaged composite plates and install new ones. Internally, the welded turret is slightly larger, allowing the installation of more radio equipment.


==Development==
The hull glacis armor was revised as well, with three evenly spaced 15mm plates of high-hardness steel replacing the 105mm glass textolite insert in a void space of the same volume. For a very small increase in weight, this armor scheme offered somewhat increased performance against APFSDS ammunition and similar performance against shaped charges.
===JCh-5G===
 
The initial JCh-5 closely resembled the T-66 series, but incorporated several major design differences. The largest of these was the replacement of the opposed-piston engine with a more conventional V-shaped layout. To make room for the larger powerplant, the rear chassis was extended slightly, with the treads rising to the toothed drivewheel at a lower angle. The JCh-5 also incorporated many of the minor simplifications applied to the T-66A and T-66B, which reduced reliability problems with the hydraulics, suspension, and autoloader. In other areas, however, the JCh-5G was something of a downgrade. It continued to use the old composite armor scheme, as that under development for the T-66V remained classified, and it also retained the outdated optics arrangement of the T-66A – which included a stereoscopic rangefinder and a rudimentary stabilization system.
The JCh-5N also added compatibility with the YDCh-13 gun-launched anti-tank guided missile. The laser guidance unit is located on the right side of the turret, forward of the commander's HMG mount. This guidance unit must be removed in order to access the cover panels for the composite armor. The Ministry of National Defense had planned to improve the optics as well, but [[Ryŏ Ho-jun]]'s decentralization of factory networks had caused problems along the supply chain, so the old optics were retained.
 
Despite the economic disruption, Menghe was able to open a second production line for the JCh-5N in 1984, the same year the new variant entered production at the Chikai plant. This new facility, the Insŏng Machine Building Plant, was located in southern Menghe, far from [[Dayashina]], which posed the main threat to Menghe at the time.


===Later upgrades===
===JCh-5D===
Disappointed at the shortcomings of the JCh-5G, Menghe engineers set out to improve the design even further, without adding too much to its unreliability. It was at this point in the design stage that the JCh-5 departed most radically from its Letnian origins.
Introduced in 1991, the JCh-5D addresses many faults which Chikai's engineers identified in the early 1980s but were unable to fix. It features improved optics and fire-control, including a laser rangefinder, and an improved gun stabilization system. It still relies on active infrared illumination for night vision, but the IR receiver is more sensitive and can see illuminated targets out to 800 meters. Many of these components were imported initially, though over the 1990s Menghe steadily increased the share of domestic components.


Designated '''JCh-5N''', the new tank entered limited service late in 1985. The most prominent change was an all-new welded turret, which incorporated a more advanced composite armor scheme over the frontal arc. This was armed with a new 125mm gun, which incorporated a better cooling sleeve and bore evacuator, firing tungsten APFSDS ammunition. The optics were also upgraded, addressing severe accuracy problems which the JCh-5G had encountered in combat trials. As with all T-66-derived variants, there were also minor fixes to minor hull systems, though not on as large a scale.
Externally, the JCh-5D sported a full suite of {{wp|reactive armour|explosive reactive armour}}. Menghean sources refer to the reactive armor used on the JCh-5D as "first-generation" ERA: produced in small brick-like blocks, it is effective against single-charge {{wp|high-explosive anti-tank|HEAT}} warheads, but not tandem HEAT warheads or kinetic energy penetrators.


Due to its complexity and cost, the JCh-5N was not produced in the numbers Menghe’s military commanders desired, especially after economic decline at home cut into the availability of advanced military hardware. After the [[Decembrist Revolution]], however, the new Socialist leadership decided to expand production, as the JCh-5N was the most advanced tank in its inventory.
A more powerful diesel engine with an output of 950 horsepower more than offset the added weight of the reactive armor, increasing the JCh-5's road speed and improving its offroad mobility. The new engine was also more reliable, partly due to greater access to imported parts and higher-quality machining equipment.


In 1991, the [[Menghean Army]] introduced the '''JCh-5D''', which added early-generation {{wp|Reactive_armour#Explosive_reactive_armour|ERA}} bricks to the hull and turret as added protection against HEAT warheads. This variant also had the capability to fire anti-tank guided missiles through the gun barrel, which had been a feature in Letnia since the T-66B. The type of missile fired, YDCh-14, had a range of 4,000 kilometers and employed {{wp|Semi-automatic_command_to_line_of_sight|SACLOS}} guidance.
Although JCh-4 production stopped in the early 1990s, a victim of the military budget cuts early in [[Choe Sŭng-min]]'s tenure, JCh-5 production at both tank factories continued, albeit at about half of its peak level. Despite pressuring the Army to accept force reductions as part of a plan to improve relations with Dayashina, Choe Sŭng-min personally advocated for continued production of the JCh-5, on the basis that it would maintain employment at both factories and preserve Menghean AFV design expertise. Choe had also commanded a division with JCh-5s during his military career, even leading them into [[Donggyŏng]] during the [[Decembrist Revolution]], and had a favorable impression of the vehicle.


'''JCh-5R''' followed this trend in 2002, adding what Menghean sources refer to as a "second-generation ERA" system capable of inducing shear forces on APFSDS ammunition. It also improved the fire-control system for standard ammunition, including the addition of a more sophisticated wind and temperature sensor and more capable passive night vision sights for the gunner and commander. In the most substantial change to the design, it even incorporated a more powerful diesel engine, with an output of 950 shaft horsepower.
===JCh-5R===
[[Image:JCh-5_middle_variants_2022-06-09.png|400px|thumb|right|JCh-5 variants introduced between 1988 and 2008, including a JCh-5R prototype without reactive armor to show the turret geometry.]]
Though it came last in the series, the JCh-5R was in many respects the most improved new-production variant of the JCh-5. It added an entirely passive night vision system based on infrared imaging, increasing the range of detection of enemy targets and eliminating the need for an active infrared spotlight which could give away the tank's location. The gunner and commander both received new dual-mode electro-optical units with variable magnification. Along with further improvements to the stabilizer and laser rangefinder and the addition of a 360-degree wind and temperature sensor, this brought the JCh-5R's accuracy up to modern levels.


Together, these two variants (-D and -R) account for most JCh-5 tanks in Menghean service.
Externally, the main change to the JCh-5R was the installation of what Menghean sources term "second-generation" ERA. This reactive armor uses larger plates set at a steeper angle, and is able to wear down, destabilize, and shatter kinetic energy penetrators, improving the JCh-5R's protection in tank-on-tank combat. Internally, the turret floor and its plating were altered to allow the loading of 125mm APFSDS ammunition with a longer kinetic energy penetrator, though not as long as the KEP used on the [[JCh-6]] and its successors.


===JCh-5M===
==Overall description==
Designed in 2010, the JCh-5M applied successful features of the JCh-6D to the JCh-5 chassis. It was designed as a "bolt-on" upgrade, which could easily be retrofitted to existing units without restarting JCh-5 production. Most of the changes related to the fire-control system: a muzzle reference device was installed atop the barrel, and new visual-wavelength and infrared sights were installed in place of the old ones. This change also enabled the removal of the active IR spotlight on the turret face, and allowed ERA panels to be extended over the area it had covered.
The JCh-5 shares the internal layout of the T-64 before it, with the driver sitting in the front and center, the commander sitting on the right side of the turret, and the gunner sitting on the left side of the turret. The interior of the tank is cramped, but the smaller crew compensates for this somewhat. The 125mm main gun is fed from a carousel autoloader that sits under and around the turret crew, with the charges stored upright forming the walls of the turret basket. The autoloader holds 28 rounds and can reload the main gun at 8 rounds per minute, slower than a fresh human loader in a steady tank but faster than a tired loader or a loader in a moving tank. Up to 8 additional rounds, for a total of 36, can be stored around the interior of the hull, but this increases the already-high risk of explosion if the armor is penetrated.


Contrary to initial expectations, JCh-5M did not incorporate "third-generation ERA" of the type used on the JCh-6D. Instead, it relied on the "second-generation" panels used on the JCh-5R, which were lighter, more reliable, and easier to manufacture.
A disadvantage of the carousel autoloader design is that the length of the projectile is limited because the entire round must be broken down into two pieces for storage. This was not a problem for early ammunition types, but it prevented the adoption of {{wp|Armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot|APFSDS}} penetrators beyond a certain length, limiting future growth in armor penetration capability. Subsequent Menghean main battle tanks, such as the JCh-6, addressed this by placing longer unitary ammunition in the turret bustle.


The JCh-5M also incorporated a new storage system on the turret rear. Sometimes mistaken for a bustle autoloader of the type used on the JCh-5/6, this is actually a replacement for external storage bins, and cannot be accessed from inside the vehicle. The central-rear bin is used to hold spare 125mm shells and propellant charges, eliminating the loose ammunition stowage within the crew compartment which had contributed to catastrophic detonations on penetrated vehicles during the [[Ummayan Civil War]]. Live-fire tests against JCh-5N and JCh-5M hulls at full ammunition loads have confirmed that the latter are considerably less prone to catastrophic detonations, but can still cook off if the carousel autoloader itself is hit.
==Full list of variants==
===Main battle tanks===
[[Image:JCh-5_late_variants_2022-06-09.png|400px|thumb|right|The most recent combat variants of the JCh-5 main battle tank as of 2022.]]
* '''JCh-5G''' - Initial production model, manufactured between 1979 and 1983 exclusively at the Chikai Heavy Machine Building Plant. Of all JCh-5 variants, it most closely resembled the T-64B, though it lacked the latter's ATGM guidance capability and had a different machine gun cupola. It is the only JCh-6 variant with a cast turret.
** '''JCh-5G1''' - Refitted with smoke grenade launchers on the turret face.
** '''JCh-5G2''' - Refitted with "first-generation" ERA. It closely resembles the JCh-6D, especially with its turret masked by reactive armor. The most visible difference is that it has one fewer row of ERA bricks on either side of the turret face.
* '''JCh-5N''' - New production model introduced in 1984 at the Insŏng Machine Building Plant. It has a welded octagonal turret with a new composite armor scheme, though the two turrets are similar in approximate shape and layout. The JCh-6N also introduced the ability to fire the YDCh-13 GLATGM.
** '''JCh-5N1''' - Designation for JCh-5Ns fitted with the ERA blocks of the JCh-5D. The fire-control system was not upgraded.
** '''JCh-5N2''' - Designation for JCh-5Ns upgraded to JCh-5R standard. They are essentially identical to JCh-5D1s.
* '''JCh-5D''' - Production model introduced in 1991. It incorporates minor optics and stabilizer improvements compared to the JCh-6N, but retains the obsolete active infrared illumination system. It is also the first JCh-5 variant to carry reactive armor, with small blocks on the turret, hull sides, and glacis plate.
** '''JCh-5D1''' - Designation for JCh-5Ds modified to JCh-5R standard. The first-generation ERA blocks are replaced by second-generation ERA blocks, which can degrade the performance of APFSDS ammunition. The commander's front periscope was replaced with an electro-optical sight with visual and passive infrared modes, though the two-part cupola design was retained, and the commander cannot operate the 12.7mm heavy machine gun remotely. Upgrading the gunner's sight presented similar problems, as the JCh-5R's combined visual, infrared, and laser sight required a new turret roof design with a wider gap through the roof. Rather than thoroughly cutting and welding the existing turret roof armor, the designers installed a separate IR and laser guidance sight in place of the existing auxiliary gunner sight, and replaced the visual sight as well. The gunner thus has two different gunsights to choose from. Refitted JCh-5D1s first appeared in 2008.
* '''JCh-5R''' - New variant produced from 2002 to 2007. Features an entirely new gunner's sight and cupola, though the rest of the turret is identical to the base turret of the N and D variants. It also features "second-generation" explosive reactive armour with greater effectiveness against APFSDS ammunition.
** '''JCh-5R1''' - JCh-5R refitted with the [[Jŏgran-un_(countermeasure)#Ulsae_softkill_APS|Ulsae]] sofkill active protection system, comprised of an infrared missile approach and laser designation warning sensor that can automatically deploy smoke on the bearing to the threat or activate a traversing laser dazzler. These required the removal of some reactive armor modules from the roof. The JCh-5R1 was first seen in 2011, one year after the introduction of the Ulsae APS.
** '''JCh-5R2''' - JCh-5R refitted with the full [[Jŏgran-un_(countermeasure)|Jŏgran-un]] active protection system, including active radar panels on the turret cheeks and hardkill countermeasure launchers on either side of the turret rear. To make room for the newly added systems, the smoke grenade launchers were rearranged, and the storage bins on the rear of the turret were replaced by a new, more rectangular group of bins, giving the tank a passing resemblance to the [[JCh-5.5#S.804|S.804]] prototype vehicle. No under-armor changes were made apart from the installation of an interface box for the Jŏgran-un APS, however, and the large rectangular turret bustle is comprised entirely of external stowage bins and APS electronics, with no bustle autoloader or ammunition rack.


A final interesting feature of the JCh-5M is its [[MChGJ-0800]] short-range radio antenna, also adopted after successful tests on the JCh-6D. This uses a frequency in the {{wp|C_band_(IEEE)|C band}}, between 4 and 8 GHz. The frequency is not high enough to suffer severe problems with atmospheric attenuation in rain, but is still limited to line-of-sight communication, as its waves do not experience {{wp|Surface_wave|surface diffraction}}. This makes it a highly secure band, unable to be intercepted by enemy units outside line-of-sight and nearly impervious to jamming. As on the JCh-6D, this system would be used for close-range communication between tanks in a Company under conditions of intense electronic warfare, effectively a replacement for {{wp|Flag_semaphore|semaphore flags}} carried by the tank commander.
==JCh-5.5==
{{main|JCh-5.5}}
[[Image:JCh-5.5_S.815_2022-02-28.png|400px|thumb|right|Four-view diagram of the S.815 prototype, which entered production as the JCh-5.5G. Note the radical turret redesign and the baseline JCh-5G hull.]]
JCh-5.5 is the designation for a major variant of the JCh-5 main battle tank with a secondary autoloader in the turret bustle to allow the loading of unitary main gun ammunition. This, in turn, allows the use of longer and heavier APFSDS projectiles with better penetration capability.


==JCh-5/6==
A single testbed vehicle with the prototype designation '''S.804''' was assembled in 1996 to evaluate the feasibility of a new-build JCh-5 successor with a bustle autoloader in addition to the hull autoloader. The bustle autoloader was only armored against shrapnel and small-arms fire, and could only hold 14 rounds. Procurement staff from the [[Ministry of National Defense (Menghe)|Ministry of National Defense]] ultimately rejected this design in favor of the '''S.804''', which had a new hull, a new engine, and a turret with better protection and increased ammunition capacity. The S.804 entered mass production, with minor changes, as the [[JCh-6]].  
An interesting evolution of the JCh-5 series was the cancelled program later designated JCh-5/6. It began in 1996, not long after the Menghean government issued a design requirement for a new main battle tank capable of firing more effective single-piece 125mm APFSDS ammunition. The main design team responded with Project 805, which would become the JCh-6. A secondary design team, however, produced an alternative design, which was intended to take the place of Project 805 if it fell short of expectations.


===Project 804===
Interest in a bustle-loading turret for the JCh-5 resurfaced in the late 2000s, motivated not by any requirement to introduce a new tank, but by an interest in upgrading the thousands of JCh-5 tanks already in service with the [[Menghean Army]]. In 2012 Chikai unveiled the '''S.815''' prototype, which, compared to the S.804 of 1996, featured a new turret with better composite armor on the face and thicker armor on the sides of the turret bustle. The Ministry of National Defense approved it for mass production in 2013, with the first deliveries taking place in 2014. Because it is a rebuild kit for existing JCh-5 hulls, but replaces enough components to be functionally equivalent to a new tank model, the new vehicle was given the designation '''JCh-5.5''', representing the midway point between the JCh-5 and the JCh-6, whose capabilities it adds.
This alternative program, designated '''Project 804''', was intended to meet the design requirements while continuing to use the same base chassis as the JCh-5 series. The turret face, as well as the glacis plate and hull sides, carried the same "second-generation ERA" used by the contemporary JCh-5R. On the rear of this turret was a prominent bustle with a cycling-belt autoloader carrying 18 main gun rounds. The bustle itself was thinly armored, with protection only against shrapnel and ammunition of less than 12.7mm caliber, but in the event of a more serious penetration its upper panel would blow off to relieve the pressure. Additional main gun ammunition was stored on the turret floor in place of the carousel autoloader, which was removed, and loose ammunition was no longer stored in the hull itself. In the hull rear, a more powerful engine allowed for a higher power-to-weight ratio, increasing road speed and offroad handling.


Three prototypes were built for testing in 1998, and they performed adequately in demonstration trials, meeting nearly all of the government's design requirements except below-ERA armor protection on the hull. They were surpassed, however, by the Project 805 competitor, which exceeded its targets in all areas. Project 805 was then accepted for service as the JCh-6, while Project 804 was shelved and its prototypes moved into storage.
All JCh-5.5 tanks are assembled at the Insŏng Machine Building Plant. Changes to the original design include the removal and replacement of the turret, the removal and replacement of the engine with a new powerpack, the installation of applique glacis plate armor, and the installation of heavier side skirts.


===Project 814===
==Production==
Interest in the notion of a bustle-armed JCh-5 returned in 2010, after High Command decided to prioritize new-build production of the JCh-6 over the JCh-5 variant. The Marine Infantry force in particular expressed its interest in such a vehicle, which would be lighter than the JCh-6 and therefore more suitable to amphibious transport. At High Command’s approval, the original team was reassembled under an arms subsidiary of [[Jachi-hoesa#List_of_major_Jachi-hoesa|Samsan Heavy Industries]] and instructed to revisit the concept in line with the Marine Infantry’s requirements.
{| class="wikitable floatright"
|-
! Variant  !! Chikai      !! Insŏng      !! Total
|-
| JCh-5G    || 920 units  || 0 units    || 920 units
|-
| JCh-5N    || 1,659 units || 742 units  || 2,401 units
|-
| JCh-5D    || 2,023 units || 1,465 units || 3,588 units
|-
| JCh-5R    || 1,539 units || 245 units  || 1,784 units
|-
| All types || 6,141 units || 2,452 units || 8,593 units
|}


Although the Project 804 prototypes provided some initial conceptual guidance for the new design, the resulting '''Project 814''' proposal amounted to a new design. The design team built an all-new hexagonal turret with lighter but more efficient composite armor of the type used on the JCh-6R, with a lightly armored bustle similar to that of Project 804 protruding from the rear. In addition to allowing for the storage of longer APFSDS ammunition carried by the JCh-6, the autoloader could also handle the [[YDCh-72#YDCh-73|YDCh-73]], which was introduced to limited service in late 2016. To compensate for the thinner base armor, the designers added a standoff hard-kill {{wp|Active_protection_system|active protection system}}, the first of its kind carried by a Menghean main battle tank. The engine was also improved yet again, to a 12-cylinder diesel with an output of 1020 hp but the same overall dimensions to allow refitting into the same engine compartment, to maintain the same power-to-weight ratio as the JCh-5R despite the added weight. After several years of testing, the vehicle was approved for service in 2013, with the Marine Infantry placing an order for 250 vehicles.
The JCh-5 was manufactured at the Chikai Heavy Machine Building Plant in Jinjŏng between 1979 and 2007, and at the Insŏng Machine Building Plant in Insŏng between 1984 and 2004. Nearly 8,600 units were produced in total during this time, making it (as of 2022) third most widely produced main battle tank to come out of Menghe, with the [[JCh-6]] taking first place and the [[JCh-4]] taking second. It was, however, in continuous production for 28 years, longer than any other postwar Menghean main battle tank.


Owing to its conceptual resemblance to the JCh-6, and to clarify confusion over compatibility with full-length APFSDS ammunition, the new tank was designated the '''JCh-5/6''' in service. The same designation is sometimes retroactively applied to the Project 804 prototype, resulting in some confusion over the origin of the term. Although marketed as an all-service vehicle, in Menghean service it is only used by the Tank Battalions of the Marine Infantry.
The table on the right summarizes official production figures for the JCh-5. It includes both JCh-5s built for domestic Menghean service and JCh-5s built for export to other countries. It does not include specialty vehicles, such as armored recovery vehicles, manufactured using the JCh-5 hull, and it does not include one-off experimental vehicles like the single JCh-5D hull pulled from the production lines to produce the S.804 prototype.


==Ammunition==
Of the 920 JCh-5G units produced, 186 were exported to [[Uskonmaa]] and the remaining 734 were used by the Menghean Army. Of these, at least 12 and possibly more were lost during Menghe's intervention in the [[Polvokian Civil War]]. According to separate production data, 703 JCh-5G hulls were used in JCh-5.5G conversions; the remaining 19 hulls were sold to museums, lost in accidents, or used for target practice.
Like the T-66, the JCh-5 uses a carousel autoloader in which ammunition is broken into two pieces. For high-explosive and HEAT rounds, the projectile is stored horizontally on the floor facing inward and the propellant charge is stored vertically behind it, and both are swung into the breech in a single motion. For APFSDS rounds, the projectile, sabot, and additional propellant are stored in the forward section of the round on the floor. Gun-launched ATGMs are also broken into pieces to allow storage. The layout, adopted in Letnia, allows for a more compact vehicle, but also raises the risk of catastrophic detonation if a projectile penetrates through the side of the tank and strikes the upright propellant charges.


When first introduced to service, the JCh-5 used the Type 75 APFSDS round, a licensed copy of the [[Letnia]]n 3BM-17 projectile. This was a simple, all-steel export grade round, with about 300mm RHAe penetration. The Type 84, its successor, was a copy of the Letnian 3BM-22 projectile, though it had a slightly different sabot design. It had a larger penetrator cap, but still relied on a steel body, and if comparable in performance to the 3BM-22 would have achieved about 400mm RHAe penetration at 2000km range. Both projectiles sat entirely within the forward section of the round.
==Operators==
Owing to its late introduction in 1979, its relatively modest features, and the global embargo against Menghe in 1984-1988, the JCh-5 was not exported very widely. Many [[Namhae Front]] members, including close allies like [[Polvokia]], use the T-74 instead. This includes [[Argentstan]] and the [[Republic of Innominada]], which inherited large T-74 stocks from surrendering, routing, or defecting Innominadan People's Army units after the [[Innominadan Crisis]].


Following the [[Decembrist Revolution]], Menghe began work on new ammunition types with greater penetrating capability. The Type 93, apparently derived from the 3BM-32 projectile, uses a longer depleted uranium projectile and reportedly achieves 500mm penetration. The Type 98, an independent Menghean design bearing some resemblance to the longer 3BM-42M, reportedly achieves 580mm. Further growth was limited by the dimensions of the autoloader: the projectile section stored on the autoloader floor can be no longer than 640 mm. This constraint drove work on the [[JCh-6]], which could carry unitary ammunition in a new bustle autoloader. Some sources report that in 2009 the Menghean Army introduced a Type 09 two-piece APFSDS round for the JCh-5 with "improved performance against reactive armor;" though details are scarce, some analysts believe that the Type 09 uses the same steel head and uranium body as the full-length Type 08 special.
===Current operators===
* {{flag|Azbekistan}}: 810 units, all new-build JCh-5D variants, delivered between 1994 and 1998.
* {{flag|Menghe}}: 4,388 units, excluding hulls used for JCh-5.5 conversions. By 2015, all JCh-5G models had been retired from service, either repurposed into JCh-5.5G conversions or sold to parks and museums. The remaining JCh-5 models, most of which have been upgraded to R2 standard, were in reserve service before the start of the [[Second Pan-Septentrion War]].
* {{flag|Ummayah}}: 820 units, a mix of secondhand Menghean N and D variants, exported between 2005 and 2008 as part of a program to build up Ummayah's newly-created armed forces.


==Service==
===Former operators===
At least 24,000 JCh-5 tanks of all variants were produced during the vehicle's production run, which lasted from 1978 to 2008. The majority of these vehicles were completed between 1990 and 2008, and are of the D, R, or M variants. As of 2015, all JCh-5N tanks have been refitted to at least R standard, and all JCh-5Gs have been either scrapped or sent to early training units. The JCh-5 was the most advanced type of Menghean main battle tank from 1994 until 2005, when the newly introduced [[JCh-6]] entered service. As of 2016, the JCh-6 has replaced the JCh-5 in nearly all active units, though the latter still forms the backbone of Class 2 units in the Mobilization Reserves.
* {{flag|Uskonmaa}}: 402 units, of which 186 are new-build JCh-5Gs delivered in 1982-1984 and 225 are JCh-5D units delivered in 1992-1994. The original shipment was interrupted by the global trade embargo imposed as a response to Menghe's [[Menghe and weapons of mass destruction|nuclear weapons program]]. Between 2014 and 2019, all of Uskonmaa's operational JCh-5 tanks were rebuilt into [[JCh-5.5]] tanks.


{{Menghean postwar AFVs}}
{{Menghean postwar AFVs}}


[[Category:Menghe]]
[[Category:Menghe]]

Latest revision as of 15:04, 12 June 2022

JCh-5
JCh 5.png
Early variants of the JCh-5.
TypeMain battle tank
Place of originMenghe
Service history
In service1979-present
Used byAzbekistan
Menghe
Ummayah
WarsUmmayan Civil War

Innominadan Crisis
Innominadan Uprising

Second Pan-Septentrion War
Production history
Designed1975-1979
ManufacturerChikai Heavy Machine Building Plant
Insŏng Machine Building Plant
Produced1979-2007
No. built8,593
VariantsJCh-5.5
Specifications (JCh-5D)
Weight45.5 metric tonnes
Length9.64 m (inc. gun and fuel tanks)
6.41 m hull only
Width3.64 m
Height2.07 m to turret roof
Crew3 (driver, gunner, commander)
Armorwelded steel plate
"Second-generation ERA" (Menghean classification)
Main
armament
125mm L/45 smoothbore gun
Secondary
armament
12.7mm HMG (commander)
7.62mm GPMG (co-axial)
EngineKP-12 diesel
708 kW (950 hp)
Power/weight21.1 hp/tonne
Suspensiontorsion-bar
Ground clearance38 cm
Operational
range
600 km (internal fuel), 800km (with external tanks)
Speed60 km/h (road)

The JCh-5 (formal designation: 5호 주력 전차 / 五號主力戰車, O-ho juryŏk jŏncha, "No.5 Main Battle Tank;" short designation 전차-5, Jŏncha-o) is a main battle tank introduced in the Democratic People's Republic of Menghe and inherited by the Socialist Republic of Menghe. Though based on the Kolodorian T-64, it was specially modified to satisfy Menghean reliability requirements, and later followed its own upgrade and development trajectory. With a three-man crew, a low profile, and a 125mm autoloading gun, it introduced many features that would be emulated by later Menghean main battle tanks such as the JCh-6 and JCh-8.

A total of 8,593 JCh-5 tanks of all variants were produced in Menghe between 1979 and 2007, making the JCh-5 second most widely-produced tank in Menghe after the JCh-4. Along with the JCh-4, it is still widely used by Menghean reservist units, though in active units it has been fully replaced by the JCh-6 and JCh-8. Most JCh-5s in Menghe have been upgraded with improved fire-control systems, reactive armour, and the ability to fire gun-launched anti-tank guided missiles, and some have been rebuilt into JCh-5.5 tanks.

Development

T-64 evaluation

After the outbreak of the Vinyan War in April 1975, the Democratic People's Republic of Menghe sent observers to its communist ally Kolodoria to study the fighting, and closely followed reports from the front lines. Early clashes in the first year appeared to verify Menghean commanders' concerns that the JCh-2 was an obsolete tank and the JCh-4 was an insufficiently radical improvement. Menghean observers were particularly impressed by the performance of Kolodorian units with T-64s, and inquired about the possibility of importing the latest model. Unwilling to divert production away from the front lines, where new tanks were urgently needed, the Kolodorian government shipped four T-64Bs to Menghe for evaluation and held out the possibility of a production license if the war did not promptly conclude.

Menghean crews tested and evaluated the tanks in late 1975, and identified a number of problems not present in the battlefield reports. In particular, they found the T-64's engine to be unreliable, a problem intensified by Menghean engineers who were unfamiliar with the opposed-piston design. This also resulted in concern about high production costs, particularly with Menghe facing production bottlenecks in optical equipment and electronics.

The Menghean Ministry of National Defense also recommended updating the tank based on combat reports from the Vinyan War. For example, the T-64's ZU-64 cupola allowed the commander to remotely control the machine gun from inside the vehicle, a feature that initially impressed Menghean designers. Actual combat experience in the Vinyan War, however, indicated that a closed mount was disadvantageous. From below armor, the commander has limited visibility at high angles, and a low chance of seeing incoming helicopters or attack aircraft. The below-armor anti-aircraft sight's narrow field of view also makes it difficult to properly lead a fast-moving target. In actual combat, tank commanders on both sides often entered battle standing or peering above the hatch to look for ATGM teams, which were also harder to spot through the periscopes. Aiming to the rear, while permitted by the 360-degree cupola ring, was impossible in practice because the commander could only sit facing forward in the cramped turret. Finally, both threats which the commander's HMG is meant to counter--namely, helicopters and ATGM teams--threaten the tank with an anti-tank guided missile, which poses the same threat to the commander whether his hatch is open or closed, and are beyond the range of small-arms fire.

JCh-5G

Four-view diagram of a G-model JCh-5, including a side-view cutaway and a view of the hull without the turret.

With Kolodorian approval, the DPRM began development on a customized variant better suited for Menghe's strategic needs. They lengthened the hull by half a meter and installed a V-12 diesel generating 660 hp. The engine was placed with the crankshaft running perpendicular to the vehicle's path of travel. Though less powerful than the T-64's 5TDF opposed-piston engine, the Menghean powerplant was easier to manufacture, more reliable, and more familiar to Menghean mechanics and engineers.

The design of the commander's cupola was also heavily revised, resulting in a layout similar to that of the Letnian T-74. The GCh-75 HMG is fixed to a separate race ring that runs around the outside of the cupola on a separate track. Normally, it is locked in position facing the rear. This allows the commander to independently rotate the cupola without having to also rotate the heavy and off-center machine gun. To use the machine gun, the commander opens the hatch, stands on his seat, faces the rear, and holds the HMG's manual controls. A toggle lever allows the commander to either traverse the HMG independently on its race ring while leaving the cupola fixed in place, or lock the two race rings together and traverse the HMG and cupola as a single unit. The former is better for small adjustments, and the latter for pivoting to the direction of a threat.

Due to export limitations, and due to Menghean MoND hesitancy about introducing complex weapon systems, the capability to fire anti-tank guided missiles from the gun was omitted. Accordingly, the laser guidance block on the right side of the T-64B turret was omitted as well. The T-64B's infrared laser rangefinder, however, is retained, replacing the optical stereoscopic rangefinder in the T-64A and the JCh-4. This gives the JCh-5 considerably better accuracy than other Menghean tanks in service at the time of its introduction.

A number of smaller changes were incorporated as well. The co-axial PKT machine gun was replaced by a GCh-77 chambered in the 7.5×54mm cartridge, for parts and ammunition commonality with other Menghean tanks. The dials, optics, controls, and other labels were replaced with Menghean-language versions. In all other respects, the resulting design was identical to the T-64B, retaining the base design's left-side infrared spotlight, its composite armor scheme, and its small roadwheels.

A prototype built to these specifications underwent mobility and shooting trials in 1978, and quickly met state approval from the Ministry of National Defense, which was impressed with their characteristics and under pressure to bring a modern MBT into service. It received the designation JCh-5G. Production began in 1979 at the Chikai Heavy Machine Building Plant in Jinjŏng.

JCh-5N

Four-view diagram of an N-model JCh-5. Compare with the JCh-6G above, and note the octagonal turret and its thicker frontal armor.

An improved variant, the JCh-5N, entered service early in 1985. It can be easily distinguished from the JCh-5G because of its more angular welded turret, which incorporates an entirely new composite armor scheme. The new scheme uses layered ceramic and steel plates, and is reportedly both more effective and easier to manufacture. It is also easier to maintain: the welded panels above the composite armor sections can be cut off at a forward depot or factory, allowing workers to remove the damaged composite plates and install new ones. Internally, the welded turret is slightly larger, allowing the installation of more radio equipment.

The hull glacis armor was revised as well, with three evenly spaced 15mm plates of high-hardness steel replacing the 105mm glass textolite insert in a void space of the same volume. For a very small increase in weight, this armor scheme offered somewhat increased performance against APFSDS ammunition and similar performance against shaped charges.

The JCh-5N also added compatibility with the YDCh-13 gun-launched anti-tank guided missile. The laser guidance unit is located on the right side of the turret, forward of the commander's HMG mount. This guidance unit must be removed in order to access the cover panels for the composite armor. The Ministry of National Defense had planned to improve the optics as well, but Ryŏ Ho-jun's decentralization of factory networks had caused problems along the supply chain, so the old optics were retained.

Despite the economic disruption, Menghe was able to open a second production line for the JCh-5N in 1984, the same year the new variant entered production at the Chikai plant. This new facility, the Insŏng Machine Building Plant, was located in southern Menghe, far from Dayashina, which posed the main threat to Menghe at the time.

JCh-5D

Introduced in 1991, the JCh-5D addresses many faults which Chikai's engineers identified in the early 1980s but were unable to fix. It features improved optics and fire-control, including a laser rangefinder, and an improved gun stabilization system. It still relies on active infrared illumination for night vision, but the IR receiver is more sensitive and can see illuminated targets out to 800 meters. Many of these components were imported initially, though over the 1990s Menghe steadily increased the share of domestic components.

Externally, the JCh-5D sported a full suite of explosive reactive armour. Menghean sources refer to the reactive armor used on the JCh-5D as "first-generation" ERA: produced in small brick-like blocks, it is effective against single-charge HEAT warheads, but not tandem HEAT warheads or kinetic energy penetrators.

A more powerful diesel engine with an output of 950 horsepower more than offset the added weight of the reactive armor, increasing the JCh-5's road speed and improving its offroad mobility. The new engine was also more reliable, partly due to greater access to imported parts and higher-quality machining equipment.

Although JCh-4 production stopped in the early 1990s, a victim of the military budget cuts early in Choe Sŭng-min's tenure, JCh-5 production at both tank factories continued, albeit at about half of its peak level. Despite pressuring the Army to accept force reductions as part of a plan to improve relations with Dayashina, Choe Sŭng-min personally advocated for continued production of the JCh-5, on the basis that it would maintain employment at both factories and preserve Menghean AFV design expertise. Choe had also commanded a division with JCh-5s during his military career, even leading them into Donggyŏng during the Decembrist Revolution, and had a favorable impression of the vehicle.

JCh-5R

JCh-5 variants introduced between 1988 and 2008, including a JCh-5R prototype without reactive armor to show the turret geometry.

Though it came last in the series, the JCh-5R was in many respects the most improved new-production variant of the JCh-5. It added an entirely passive night vision system based on infrared imaging, increasing the range of detection of enemy targets and eliminating the need for an active infrared spotlight which could give away the tank's location. The gunner and commander both received new dual-mode electro-optical units with variable magnification. Along with further improvements to the stabilizer and laser rangefinder and the addition of a 360-degree wind and temperature sensor, this brought the JCh-5R's accuracy up to modern levels.

Externally, the main change to the JCh-5R was the installation of what Menghean sources term "second-generation" ERA. This reactive armor uses larger plates set at a steeper angle, and is able to wear down, destabilize, and shatter kinetic energy penetrators, improving the JCh-5R's protection in tank-on-tank combat. Internally, the turret floor and its plating were altered to allow the loading of 125mm APFSDS ammunition with a longer kinetic energy penetrator, though not as long as the KEP used on the JCh-6 and its successors.

Overall description

The JCh-5 shares the internal layout of the T-64 before it, with the driver sitting in the front and center, the commander sitting on the right side of the turret, and the gunner sitting on the left side of the turret. The interior of the tank is cramped, but the smaller crew compensates for this somewhat. The 125mm main gun is fed from a carousel autoloader that sits under and around the turret crew, with the charges stored upright forming the walls of the turret basket. The autoloader holds 28 rounds and can reload the main gun at 8 rounds per minute, slower than a fresh human loader in a steady tank but faster than a tired loader or a loader in a moving tank. Up to 8 additional rounds, for a total of 36, can be stored around the interior of the hull, but this increases the already-high risk of explosion if the armor is penetrated.

A disadvantage of the carousel autoloader design is that the length of the projectile is limited because the entire round must be broken down into two pieces for storage. This was not a problem for early ammunition types, but it prevented the adoption of APFSDS penetrators beyond a certain length, limiting future growth in armor penetration capability. Subsequent Menghean main battle tanks, such as the JCh-6, addressed this by placing longer unitary ammunition in the turret bustle.

Full list of variants

Main battle tanks

The most recent combat variants of the JCh-5 main battle tank as of 2022.
  • JCh-5G - Initial production model, manufactured between 1979 and 1983 exclusively at the Chikai Heavy Machine Building Plant. Of all JCh-5 variants, it most closely resembled the T-64B, though it lacked the latter's ATGM guidance capability and had a different machine gun cupola. It is the only JCh-6 variant with a cast turret.
    • JCh-5G1 - Refitted with smoke grenade launchers on the turret face.
    • JCh-5G2 - Refitted with "first-generation" ERA. It closely resembles the JCh-6D, especially with its turret masked by reactive armor. The most visible difference is that it has one fewer row of ERA bricks on either side of the turret face.
  • JCh-5N - New production model introduced in 1984 at the Insŏng Machine Building Plant. It has a welded octagonal turret with a new composite armor scheme, though the two turrets are similar in approximate shape and layout. The JCh-6N also introduced the ability to fire the YDCh-13 GLATGM.
    • JCh-5N1 - Designation for JCh-5Ns fitted with the ERA blocks of the JCh-5D. The fire-control system was not upgraded.
    • JCh-5N2 - Designation for JCh-5Ns upgraded to JCh-5R standard. They are essentially identical to JCh-5D1s.
  • JCh-5D - Production model introduced in 1991. It incorporates minor optics and stabilizer improvements compared to the JCh-6N, but retains the obsolete active infrared illumination system. It is also the first JCh-5 variant to carry reactive armor, with small blocks on the turret, hull sides, and glacis plate.
    • JCh-5D1 - Designation for JCh-5Ds modified to JCh-5R standard. The first-generation ERA blocks are replaced by second-generation ERA blocks, which can degrade the performance of APFSDS ammunition. The commander's front periscope was replaced with an electro-optical sight with visual and passive infrared modes, though the two-part cupola design was retained, and the commander cannot operate the 12.7mm heavy machine gun remotely. Upgrading the gunner's sight presented similar problems, as the JCh-5R's combined visual, infrared, and laser sight required a new turret roof design with a wider gap through the roof. Rather than thoroughly cutting and welding the existing turret roof armor, the designers installed a separate IR and laser guidance sight in place of the existing auxiliary gunner sight, and replaced the visual sight as well. The gunner thus has two different gunsights to choose from. Refitted JCh-5D1s first appeared in 2008.
  • JCh-5R - New variant produced from 2002 to 2007. Features an entirely new gunner's sight and cupola, though the rest of the turret is identical to the base turret of the N and D variants. It also features "second-generation" explosive reactive armour with greater effectiveness against APFSDS ammunition.
    • JCh-5R1 - JCh-5R refitted with the Ulsae sofkill active protection system, comprised of an infrared missile approach and laser designation warning sensor that can automatically deploy smoke on the bearing to the threat or activate a traversing laser dazzler. These required the removal of some reactive armor modules from the roof. The JCh-5R1 was first seen in 2011, one year after the introduction of the Ulsae APS.
    • JCh-5R2 - JCh-5R refitted with the full Jŏgran-un active protection system, including active radar panels on the turret cheeks and hardkill countermeasure launchers on either side of the turret rear. To make room for the newly added systems, the smoke grenade launchers were rearranged, and the storage bins on the rear of the turret were replaced by a new, more rectangular group of bins, giving the tank a passing resemblance to the S.804 prototype vehicle. No under-armor changes were made apart from the installation of an interface box for the Jŏgran-un APS, however, and the large rectangular turret bustle is comprised entirely of external stowage bins and APS electronics, with no bustle autoloader or ammunition rack.

JCh-5.5

Main article: JCh-5.5
Four-view diagram of the S.815 prototype, which entered production as the JCh-5.5G. Note the radical turret redesign and the baseline JCh-5G hull.

JCh-5.5 is the designation for a major variant of the JCh-5 main battle tank with a secondary autoloader in the turret bustle to allow the loading of unitary main gun ammunition. This, in turn, allows the use of longer and heavier APFSDS projectiles with better penetration capability.

A single testbed vehicle with the prototype designation S.804 was assembled in 1996 to evaluate the feasibility of a new-build JCh-5 successor with a bustle autoloader in addition to the hull autoloader. The bustle autoloader was only armored against shrapnel and small-arms fire, and could only hold 14 rounds. Procurement staff from the Ministry of National Defense ultimately rejected this design in favor of the S.804, which had a new hull, a new engine, and a turret with better protection and increased ammunition capacity. The S.804 entered mass production, with minor changes, as the JCh-6.

Interest in a bustle-loading turret for the JCh-5 resurfaced in the late 2000s, motivated not by any requirement to introduce a new tank, but by an interest in upgrading the thousands of JCh-5 tanks already in service with the Menghean Army. In 2012 Chikai unveiled the S.815 prototype, which, compared to the S.804 of 1996, featured a new turret with better composite armor on the face and thicker armor on the sides of the turret bustle. The Ministry of National Defense approved it for mass production in 2013, with the first deliveries taking place in 2014. Because it is a rebuild kit for existing JCh-5 hulls, but replaces enough components to be functionally equivalent to a new tank model, the new vehicle was given the designation JCh-5.5, representing the midway point between the JCh-5 and the JCh-6, whose capabilities it adds.

All JCh-5.5 tanks are assembled at the Insŏng Machine Building Plant. Changes to the original design include the removal and replacement of the turret, the removal and replacement of the engine with a new powerpack, the installation of applique glacis plate armor, and the installation of heavier side skirts.

Production

Variant Chikai Insŏng Total
JCh-5G 920 units 0 units 920 units
JCh-5N 1,659 units 742 units 2,401 units
JCh-5D 2,023 units 1,465 units 3,588 units
JCh-5R 1,539 units 245 units 1,784 units
All types 6,141 units 2,452 units 8,593 units

The JCh-5 was manufactured at the Chikai Heavy Machine Building Plant in Jinjŏng between 1979 and 2007, and at the Insŏng Machine Building Plant in Insŏng between 1984 and 2004. Nearly 8,600 units were produced in total during this time, making it (as of 2022) third most widely produced main battle tank to come out of Menghe, with the JCh-6 taking first place and the JCh-4 taking second. It was, however, in continuous production for 28 years, longer than any other postwar Menghean main battle tank.

The table on the right summarizes official production figures for the JCh-5. It includes both JCh-5s built for domestic Menghean service and JCh-5s built for export to other countries. It does not include specialty vehicles, such as armored recovery vehicles, manufactured using the JCh-5 hull, and it does not include one-off experimental vehicles like the single JCh-5D hull pulled from the production lines to produce the S.804 prototype.

Of the 920 JCh-5G units produced, 186 were exported to Uskonmaa and the remaining 734 were used by the Menghean Army. Of these, at least 12 and possibly more were lost during Menghe's intervention in the Polvokian Civil War. According to separate production data, 703 JCh-5G hulls were used in JCh-5.5G conversions; the remaining 19 hulls were sold to museums, lost in accidents, or used for target practice.

Operators

Owing to its late introduction in 1979, its relatively modest features, and the global embargo against Menghe in 1984-1988, the JCh-5 was not exported very widely. Many Namhae Front members, including close allies like Polvokia, use the T-74 instead. This includes Argentstan and the Republic of Innominada, which inherited large T-74 stocks from surrendering, routing, or defecting Innominadan People's Army units after the Innominadan Crisis.

Current operators

  • Template:Country data Azbekistan: 810 units, all new-build JCh-5D variants, delivered between 1994 and 1998.
  •  Menghe: 4,388 units, excluding hulls used for JCh-5.5 conversions. By 2015, all JCh-5G models had been retired from service, either repurposed into JCh-5.5G conversions or sold to parks and museums. The remaining JCh-5 models, most of which have been upgraded to R2 standard, were in reserve service before the start of the Second Pan-Septentrion War.
  • Template:Country data Ummayah: 820 units, a mix of secondhand Menghean N and D variants, exported between 2005 and 2008 as part of a program to build up Ummayah's newly-created armed forces.

Former operators

  • Template:Country data Uskonmaa: 402 units, of which 186 are new-build JCh-5Gs delivered in 1982-1984 and 225 are JCh-5D units delivered in 1992-1994. The original shipment was interrupted by the global trade embargo imposed as a response to Menghe's nuclear weapons program. Between 2014 and 2019, all of Uskonmaa's operational JCh-5 tanks were rebuilt into JCh-5.5 tanks.

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