MBT-94

MBT-94
Type	Main battle tank
Place of origin	Tennai Mansuriyyah
Production history
Designer	Kalpa Defense (Tennai) Safadshahr Heavy Industries (Mansuriyyah)
Designed	1994 – 2004
Manufacturer	Kalpa Defense (Tennai) Safadshahr Heavy Industries (Mansuriyyah)
Unit cost	NS$13.75 million
Produced	2004 - Present
Specifications
Weight	65 tonnes (72 short tons; 64 long tons)
Length	7.3 metres (23 ft 11 in) (hull), 10.3 metres (33 ft 10 in) (gun forward)
Width	3.9 metres (12 ft 10 in)
Height	2.6 metres (8 ft 6 in)
Crew	4 (commander, gunner, loader, driver)
Armor	modular composite armor
Main armament	Kala H2 120mm smoothbore gun
Secondary armament	1 x 12.7 mm stabilized remote control turret 1 x 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun
Engine	Safadshahr 12FB 12-cylinder multi-fuel engine 1,800 hp
Power/weight	27.69 hp/tonne
Transmission	Safadshahr MT1800 automatic transmission
Suspension	In-Arm Suspension Unit
Operational range	500 km (310 mi)
Speed	70 km/h (43 mph) on the road 50 km/h (31 mph) off-road

The MBT-94 is an Tennaiite–Mansuri jointly designed and manufactured main battle tank that was developed from 1994 - 2004. Production of the tank began in 2004 and is currently ongoing. In Mansuri service the MBT-94 is designated Ghulam and in Tennaiite service it is designated Kshatriya.

Development

The project officially started in 1994. Mansuri armed forces had been looking for a permanent replacement for its fleet of MBT’s since the 1980’s, producing upgrades for its tanks as well as acquiring small batches of foreign tanks for test purposes. Meanwhile the Tennaite army was looking to supplement the current MBT and to also have a platform that could be upgraded and modified for a longer period of time. Both nations signed a joint development agreement in March 1994 after a year of negotiations, with the project being jointly headed by Tennai’s Kalpa Defense and Mansuriyyah’s Safadshahr Heavy Industries.

Engines and powertrains

The MBT-94 features a 1,800 horse power 12-cylinder multi-fuel engine developed by Safadshahr Industries. The vehicle can travel at speeds up to 70 km/h on roads, while being able to maintain speeds up to 48 km/h on of-road conditions. It is also equipped with an advanced suspension system that allows it to “sit”, “stand”, “kneel” and “lean” by adjusting its front, middle and read bogies. It allows the MBT94 to adjust itself according to terrain and tactical conditions. "Sitting" gives the tank lower profile and offer better handling over roads. "Standing" gives the vehicle higher ground clearance and allows it to have better maneuverability over rough terrain. "Kneeling" increases the amount of angle that the tank's gun barrel can elevate and depress, which allows the tank to fire its main gun downhill—something that very few tanks, if there are any others at all, can do—and give it better ability to engage low-flying aircraft. The new suspension unit also gives the tank an advantage when traveling on uneven terrain as they can be adjusted on-the-fly automatically to lessen the vibration.

Weapon systems

Fire-control

The MB-T94 is equipped with an advanced fire-control system linked to an Extremely High Frequency radar system deployed on the frontal arc of the turret, along with a traditional laser rangefinder and crosswind sensor. The system is capable of a "lock-on" mode, which can acquire and track specific targets up to a range of 9.8 km (6.1 mi) using a thermographic camera. This allows the crew to fire accurately while moving as well as engage low-flying aircraft.

The fire-control system is also linked to an advanced gun stabilizer and trigger-delay mechanism to optimise accuracy while moving in uneven terrain. If the trigger on the main gun is pulled at the same time the tank encounters an irregularity in the terrain, oscillation of the gun barrel will cause temporary misalignment between a laser emitter at the top of the barrel and a sensor at the base. This will delay the fire-control system from activating until the beam is re-aligned, improving the chances of hitting the intended target.

The GuKs Gunner's Primary Sight (GKGPS) and the GuKs Commander's Panoramic Sight (GKCPS) are present in the MBT-94 as in the Sundarji tanks, though modified to utilise the more advanced sensors and armaments deployed on the MBT-94.

The commander of the tank has the ability to override the command to take control of the turret and gun from the gunner. Moreover, unconfirmed reports state that, in the event of an emergency, the vehicle can be operated by only two crew members, or even a single one. It is speculated that the fire-control system can automatically spot and track visible targets, compare them using the data link established with other friendly vehicles to prevent redundant target engagements, and fire its main gun without manual input.

Defensive capabilities

The tank possess a modular composite base armor jointly developed by Kalpa and Safadshahr, and can be equipped with the Qanafadh explosive reactive armor. Mansuri models of the tank are also equipped with Kalkan-2 active protection system, which includes a radar to detect, track and intercept incoming anti-tank munitions, firing a shotgun-like blast to destroy the threat, while Tennaite models use XXX. The MBT-94 can also be equipped with additional composite armor packages for a higher level of protection against a wide range of threats.

Operators

Current Operators

• Tennai
• Mansuriyyah