Al - Khalid tank The term Al - Khalid tank ( — , " lit . " The Immortal Tank ) and MBT - 2000 refers to the jointly developed variants of a modern main battle tank by Pakistan and China during the 1990s . About 300 Al - Khalid tanks were in service with the Pakistan Army as of 2009 . The Bangladesh Army ordered 44 MBT - 2000s in 2011 . The tank is also used by the Royal Moroccan Army . It was recently trialed by the Peruvian Army for possible acquisition , but was discarded due to financial problems . Operated by a crew of three and armed with a 125 mm smooth - bore tank gun that is reloaded automatically , the tank uses a modern fire - control system integrated with night - fighting equipment and is capable of firing many types of anti - tank rounds as well as guided anti - tank missiles . Al - Khalid is named after the 7th - century Muslim commander Khalid bin al - Walid ( 592 - 642 AD ) . An evolution of Chinese and Soviet tanks , the design is considerably smaller and lighter than the most Western main battle tanks . It is based on the Chinese Type 90 - II , which combined technologies from several Soviet and Western tanks . The Al - Khalid is unusual in that it was designed to be adaptable for manufacture , so that it can be easily integrated with a variety of foreign engines and transmissions . The current production variant of the Al - Khalid use a diesel engine and transmission supplied by the KMDB design bureau of Ukraine . The first production models entered service with the Pakistan Army in 2001 . Development . In the 1970s , the leaders of China ' s People ' s Liberation Army were concerned about the Soviet threat , and requested an improved main battle tank ( MBT ) to replace the old and obsolete Type 59 tank . Thus in 1980 , Norinco was formed , and the Inner Mongolia First Machine Group Corporation were tasked with developing a series of new tanks . A joint development deal was signed with Pakistan in January 1990 . Initial Chinese - built prototypes were tested in Pakistan in August 1991 . Pakistan completed its manufacturing plant at Taxila in 1992 . Pakistan spent more than US $ 20 million over the next eight years on the co - development of a model suitable for its needs and on creating a capability to manufacture it locally . The Director General of Heavy Industries Taxila ( HIT ) Lt Gen Hamid Javaid and Major General Muhammad Asad supervised the project . The design team modified the tank to accept a foreign - built engine . A number of different prototypes were evaluated . In light of high ambient temperatures and the fine sand or dust that would be encountered in operational areas such as the deserts of southern Pakistan , the development of high performance cooling and air filtering systems was emphasised during the planning stage of the project . Implementation of a hydro - gas suspension system was considered but , after detailed technical evaluations , it was found to be impractical due to various limitations such as problems with reliability and maintainability . Installation of the Renk 304 transmission was also considered but disregarded . An early version was armed with a Chinese gun and fire - control system , but had a German - designed MTU - 396 diesel engine which was built under licence in China . Another version was equipped with a more advanced western digital fire - control system and powered by a Perkins Condor diesel engine ( as in the British Challenger ) and SESM ESM500 automatic transmission ( as in the French Leclerc ) . This version was considered too expensive , and under - performed in the extreme heat of southern Pakistan . Finally , a version was tested with the compact Ukrainian 6TD - 2 1 , 200 hp diesel engine . This configuration was chosen by Pakistan for the production version of the tank and came to be known as Al - Khalid . Ukraine also sold T - 80UD tanks to Pakistan which were powered by a similar engine . Yet another version — employing more western technology had been envisaged as an export product for Pakistan . The prototype had a German MTU - 871 / TCM AVDS - 1790 diesel engine and an LSG - 3000 transmission . It was abandoned due to the arms embargo imposed on Pakistan after the 1998 Pakistani nuclear tests . The final tank design resulting from a decade of co - operative development was designated " Type 90 - IIM " . The Chinese company Norinco showed the new Type 90 - IIM during the March 2001 Abu Dhabi Defense Expo , under the export name " MBT 2000 " . The version powered by the Ukrainian engine , intended for domestic production in Pakistan , was named " Al - Khalid " . During the developmental period , Heavy Industries Taxila gained experience after building the Type 85 - IIAP under Chinese licence and prepared to begin production of the Al - Khalid tank in 1999 . A pilot batch of fifteen tanks was inducted into the 31st Cavalry Regiment of Pakistan ’ s Armoured Corps on 20 July 2001 . Pakistan signed a contract with Ukraine ' s Malyshev Factory in May 2002 for the delivery of 315 KMDB 6TD - 2 diesel engines over three years . An additional batch of Al - Khalid tanks was delivered on 23 September 2004 . Pakistan planned to build a total of 600 Al - Khalid tanks for its armed forces . In 2006 a US - based market and special research organisation reported findings showing that the Al - Khalid , along with two other MBTs , would account for nearly 45 % of all new MBTs built until 2015 . In April 2002 , it was reported that Malaysia was considering purchasing the Al - Khalid after evaluation by Malaysian military personnel , but Malaysia eventually backed out without stating any reasons . The Saudi Arabian Army began conducting trials of the Al - Khalid ' s desert performance in April 2006 , after expressing interest in purchasing a batch of the tanks 2 years earlier . However , no order for the tank was placed despite the symbolic naming of the tank after Khalid ibn al - Walid . In May 2008 , Lt . Gen Sarath Fonseka of the Sri Lanka Army held talks with his Pakistan Army counterparts regarding the sale of military equipment , weapons and ammunition . The supply of 22 Al - Khalid MBTs to the Sri Lanka Army was finalised during these talks in a deal worth over US $ 100 million . Peru leased five VT - 1A from China for trials in 2009 . The Peruvian government had expressed interest in purchasing 80 – 120 units to complement the fleet of Soviet T - 55 tanks in service with the Peruvian Army . Finally Peru decided to buy MBT - 2000 tanks . However , the deal was blocked since China didn ' t obtain permissions to re - sell some Ukrainian component ( engine , transmission and Varta Active protection system ) Unveiling . Al - Khalid was revealed on 17 July 1991 , by the then Prime Minister of Pakistan , Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif , along with the then Pakistani Chief of Army Staff , Mirza Aslam Beg , in a ceremony held at the Heavy Rebuild Factory ( HRF ) , Taxila . In his speech , the Prime Minister said that that the completion of the project was a big step towards self - reliance . The Army Chief said that for the first time in history , not only had technology been transferred to Pakistan , but the design was also made by Pakistani engineers themselves . Design . Armament . Al - Khalid is designed with a 125 mm ( length : 48 calibres ) smoothbore , auto - frettaged and chrome - plated gun barrel which can fire the following types of conventional ammunition : APFSDS , HEAT - FS and HE - FS . The gun is a modified variant of KBA - 3 series of 125 mm smooth bore gun for Al - Khalid MBT which provided compatibility with Ukrainian ATGMs such as Kombat . Gun - launched , laser - guided anti - tank guided missile s can also be launched . Al - Khalid also fires a Pakistani DU round , the Naiza 125 mm DU round ( armor penetration : 550 mm in RHA at 2 km ) . It is equipped with a muzzle reference system and dual - axis stabilisation system . Elevation and azimuth control is achieved by electro - hydraulic power drives . The automatic ammunition - handling system for the main gun has a 24 - round ready - to - fire magazine and can load and fire at a rate of eight rounds per minute . The tank is also equipped with a 7 . 62 mm - coaxial machine gun , a 12 . 7 mm externally - mounted air - defence machine gun that can be aimed / fired from within the tank , and smoke grenade launchers . The gunner is provided with a dual - magnification day sight and the commander with a panoramic sight for all - around independent surveillance . Both sights are dual - axis image stabilised and have independent laser range - finders . The tank has true hunter - killer capability , giving the commander the ability to acquire new targets independently while the gunner is engaging another target . The automatic target - tracking system is designed to work when tank and target are both moving . Night vision for the gunner and commander is achieved through a dual - magnification thermal imaging sight . Both sights are integrated with the fire - control system . The production Al - Khalid tank has a fire - control system of western origin . In the MBT 2000 , the Chinese Norinco fire - control system has inputs from ten sensors . The ballistic computation time is less than one second . The manufacturer claims routine first round hits on standard square targets at ranges over 2 , 000 meters . Although prototypes were demonstrated with various fire - control systems of Chinese and western origin , the production model Al - Khalid MBTs use a Western fire - control system ( FCS ) and gun control system ( GCS ) . The tank is equipped with the " Integrated Battlefield Management System " ( IBMS ) , named ' Rehbar ' , a digital communications system developed domestically by HIT and CARE ( Centre for Advanced Research in Engineering ) . It comprises a flat - screen display mounted inside the tank which communicates with those of other vehicles , including command posts such as the HIT Sakb . It uses a data - link to facilitate secure communication of battlefield information between units , including tank video footage and information from unmanned aerial vehicles ( UAV ) . A project to manufacture the first Pakistani tank gun barrel was started by Pakistan ' s Strategic Plans Division ( SPD ) in 2000 . In April 2011 , it was reported that the first Pakistani - produced tank gun barrel was ready to be delivered to HIT for installation on the Al - Khalid and Al - Zarrar . Previously , HIT imported 125 mm gun barrel blanks from France for the two tanks which would then be machined in Pakistan by HIT . The first Pakistani gun barrel blank was produced at Heavy Mechanical Complex ( HMC ) in a joint project involving HIT , People ' s Steel Mills Limited ( PSML ) and other defence - related organisations . The specialist grade steel was produced at PSML and the resulting steel block was passed on to HMC . HMC then pressed the block to a length of 5 metres and square cross - section , before forging it into a 125 mm smoothbore barrel . The barrel was then heat treated several times in facilities such as a large vertical furnace . The process took 2 – 3 months and was watched by experts from other defence - related organisations . The barrel was to be capable of firing at 4 rounds per minute as well as being compatible with the autoloader and its 24 round magazine . According to a HIT official , a joint team proved to the Pakistan Army that strict standards would be met before the army approved production of a first batch of 50 gun barrels by HMC . The Pakistani gun barrels would likely be installed on upgraded versions of the Al - Khalid which are under development by HIT . A Rs200 million PKR contract has been finalised by HIT for the first 50 barrel batch , which is slightly lower than the barrels imported from France . After production of the first batch of local tank gun barrels in 2011 , Heavy Machinery Complex is planning to explore manufacture of artillery guns . Mobility . The production model Al - Khalid is powered by a 6TD - 2 liquid - cooled diesel engine , designed by the Kharkiv Morozov Design Bureau ( KMDB ) of Ukraine . The 6TD - 2 is a supercharged 6 - cylinder engine delivering . The 2 - stroke design , with the pistons arranged horizontally in an opposed piston configuration , makes the engine very compact and therefore more suitable for being fitted into relatively small vehicles such as the Al - Khalid MBT . The 6TD - 2 engine drives a French - designed hydro - mechanical automatic transmission , the SESM ESM500 , which is also fitted to the Leclerc MBT . Capable of manual and fully automatic power - shifting , the transmission has 5 forward and 2 reverse speeds along with a braking system that incorporates carbon friction brakes and a secondary speed - retarding system . Gear shifts are controlled by a torque converter which is made more efficient by addition of an automatic lock - up clutch . There is also a mechanical back - up system for use in emergencies , able to shift 2 gears forward and reverse . The Al - Khalid is fairly lightweight as compared to the Western tanks , weighing 46 tonnes compared to the 60 tonne M1 Abrams and Leopard 2 . A power - to - weight ratio of 26 . 66 hp / tonne gives acceleration from 0 to 32 km / h ( 0 to 20 mph ) in 10 seconds and a maximum speed of 70 km / h , the speed and agility also helping to improve survivability . A snorkel allows the tank to cross water obstacles up to 5 metres deep , after some preparation by the crew . Navigation is assisted by an inertial navigation system ( INS ) and a GPS satellite navigation system . Protection . Al - Khalid has modular composite armour and explosive reactive armour , nuclear - biological - chemical defences , an effective thermal smoke generator , internal fire extinguisher and explosion - suppression system . The infrared signature of the tank is reduced by infra - red reflective paint . Al - Khalid 1 is equipped with a newly developed indigenous explosive reactive armour , which is not only lightweight , but also more resistant to APFSDS , HEAT and HE - FS rounds . ERA is developed by Global Industrial Defence Solutions ( GIDS ) Corporation . Al - Khalid is also equipped with an Active protection system known as VARTA . HIT is also working on an indigenous APS system for future batches especially for Al - Khalid 2 . In tests it has 350mm ~ 450mm vs APFSDS and 450mm ~ 550mm vs HEAT . An advanced laser detection system from Al Technique Corporation ( ATCOP ) is present , the ATCOP LTS 1 laser threat warning system developed by Institute of Industrial Control Systems . LTS 1 consists of a mast - mounted sensor and operator ' s control box , which includes a display showing threats 360 degrees around the tank . It can detect laser rangefinders and laser target designator s and responds automatically by triggering acoustic alarms , smoke generators and other countermeasure systems . LTS 1 can detect laser devices operating in the 0 . 8 to 1 . 06 µm waveband , has a 360° field of view in azimuth ( resolution of 15° ) and a field of view in elevation of - 15° to + 90° . Operating voltage is 12V or 24V DC nominal with power consumption being 8 W nominal . The sensor head is 165 mm in diameter and 35 mm high while the control box is 80 x 130 x 55 mm in size . Laser Threat Sensor LTS786P is an early warning device which gives audio and visual alarms of threat by sensing a laser beam aimed at it from any direction . The exact location of the threat ( incoming beam ) is indicated by nine LEDs , covering all directions above horizon . It has the capability to differentiate between a Laser Range Finder , Laser Target Designator or a Laser Target Tracker Signal . In addition , provision of sensor output signal , interfacing for appropriate countermeasures , is also available . It can be used on stationary or moving objects of any size or shape . The maximum operating range is 10 km .