Type 69 / 79 The Type 69 ( ) and Type 79 ( ) are two models of Chinese main battle tank s . Both developments of the Type 59 ( based on the Soviet T - 54A ) , they were the first independently developed main battle tanks by China . Their lineage can be seen through the distinct gap between the first and second roadwheels . Other improvements included a new engine , ballistic computers , and laser rangefinders . The more advanced Type 79 was equipped with a 105 mm rifled gun , also seen on the later Type 88 tank . History . After the Sino - Soviet split , the Soviet Union withdrew its technical staff and support to China ' s arms industry . China ' s 617 Factory ( Inner - Mongolia First Machine Group Co Ltd ) was tasked to improve on the T - 54A design ( Type 59 MBT ) in 1963 , which became the Type 69 . Improvements include a dual - axis stabilized 100 mm smoothbore gun , a new 580 hp engine , and an IR search light . However , the People ' s Liberation Army was not satisfied with the version , and it did not enter serial production . Some Western analysts incorrectly identified the Type 69 as a Chinese copy of the Soviet T - 55 , opposed to the Type 59 being a copy of the T - 54A . During the 1969 Sino - Soviet border conflict , the PLA was able to capture a Soviet T - 62 MBT . The captured tank was examined , and some of its components , such as the Soviet Luna IR searchlight system , were copied and integrated into the Type 69 design . The Type 69 and Type 79 tanks became the first independently Chinese - developed main battle tank . However , the Type 69 wasn ' t formally accepted into PLA service until 1982 , and then only in limited quantities . The PLA was unsatisfied with the Type 69 ' s performance , but ironically it became one of China ' s best armored vehicle exports . Over 2 , 000 were sold worldwide in the 1980s . Relations between China and the West warmed in the 1980s , and China was able to import some Western technologies to improve its weapon systems . The Type 69 was upgraded with Western systems such as the British Marconi FCS , and the L7 105 mm gun . The new version received the designation Type 79 , which represented the last in China ' s first - generation tank development . The simplicity , robustness and low cost of the tanks made them attractive on the export market , and China sold hundreds to both sides during the Iran – Iraq War . ( Gelbart 1996 : 18 ) Many of the vehicles were later used by Saddam Hussein during the Gulf War and the 2003 Iraq War . Myanmar Army Type 69 tanks also reportedly engaged Royal Thai Army M60A3 tanks in 2001 during the battle for Border Post 9631 , although it is unclear if either side lost any vehicles . Both the Type 69 and Type 79 tanks share almost identical hulls and turrets with the older Type 59 . The only difference is that the two more recent tank models have been upgraded with better technologies that were either captured or bought from more advanced countries . ( Gelbart 1996 : 17 - 19 ) The Chinese Type 59 , 69 and 79 tanks can therefore be viewed as part of the same , evolutionary tank family in the same way that the Soviet T - 54 , - 55 and - 62 tanks share a common lineage . Only in the mid - 1980s did the Chinese gain the expertise to begin experimenting with new , indigenous tank designs that were not cast from the mold of the Type 59 / 69 / 79 family , and only in the 1990s did China begin producing truly modern tanks . ( Gelbart 1996 : 20 - 24 ) Today only a couple hundred Type 69 / Type 79s remain in PLA inventory , mostly deployed with training or reserve units . The Type 69 / Type 79 are being replaced by the newer Type 96 and Type 99 MBTs . The Type 69 is also known as WZ - 121 by the manufacturer ( NORINCO ) . In Iraqi service . During the 1980s , China was reported to have sold hundreds of Type 59 and Type 69 MBTs to Iraq . By 1991 Gulf War , western analysts claim that Iraq had upgraded some Type 69s with a 105 mm gun , a 160 mm mortar , and a 125 mm gun with an auto - loader . All of them were reinforced with frontal layer armor welded on the glacis plate . All these versions were known as Type 69 - QMs . It was reported during the 1991 Gulf War that the Iraqi Type 69 units fought harder than the elite Republican Guard units , equipped with T - 72 MBTs . One possible explanation is that Saddam ordered his Republican Guard units to preserve their strength , while sending the rest of the army , equipped with inferior Type 69 tanks , to frontline fight . According to battle reports from the 2003 invasion of Iraq , Type 69 - QMs were used by the Iraqi Army units defending Nasiriyah in March 2003 , most of them being employed as artillery pillboxes . They were key players in the ambushes which fought the US Army 507th Maintenance Company and Charlie Company of the 1st Battalion , 2nd Marines , before AH - 1 Cobra helicopters wiped out the Iraqi tanks . Two Type 69s destroyed at least four vehicles of the 507th , among them a heavy truck rammed by one of the tanks . There is also a first hand account of about four Type 69s hidden behind some buildings , pounding the Marines ' Charlie Company with indirect fire and likely disabling several " AAV " s . Some combat useless Type 59 / 69s were emplaced as decoy s or mere obstacles . This version was widely exported and produced under license in Pakistan by Heavy Industries Taxila ( HIT ) . The Type 69 - II is referred to as the Type 30 in the Royal Thai Army . Variants . Foreign variants . Bangladesh . Bangladesh Army Engineers improved its weaponry and armor system to make it more effective . Non - military applications . A civilian variant of the Type 69 / 79 was used to develop the Chinese firefighting tank . Currently only three fire brigades in China have purchased such a vehicle .