CCTV reveals production line of battle tank for export
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| A screenshot shows a tank. [Photo/CCTV] |
The production line of VT-4, a high-end main battle tank with a 125-mm smoothbore that targets the international market, has been revealed by the state broadcaster China Central Television in a recent TV documentary.
VT-4 is produced in factories of China North Industries Group Corporation, or Norinco Group, the country's biggest developer of land armaments, in Baotou, capital of North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, CCTV reported.
The factory producing VT-4 tank guns first produced copies of the former Soviet Union's T-54A rifle guns in 1958, and after 59 years, it was able to produce the world-class tank guns, according to the CCTV documentary.
The gun steel used for VT-4 is one of the strongest alloy steels, since the pressure rises to 630 MPa, or six tons on an area of one square centimeter, and the temperature reaches 3,400 degrees at firing.
VT-4's 125-mm smoothbore can fire various shells, including kinetic energy penetrators and high-explosive anti-tank warheads. It can fire anti-tank missiles with a maximum range of 5,000 meters, a stinger to the rival helicopters.
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