Type 85-IIM

* Default
* Al-Bashir

## Crew

* Commander
* Driver
* Gunner

The **Type 85-IIM** is a Tier 5 progression Main Battle Tank under Zhang Feng's dealership.

## History

* Type 85-IIM
* Al-Bashir
### Type 85-IIM

Class: Main Battle Tank

Developed: 1988-1990

Service: 1991-1993+

Vehicles Built: cca 200

Operators: Pakistan

The Type 85 Main Battle Tank is an evolution of the Type 80/88 MBT. Unlike the Type 88, the Type 85 was built purely for export and it was actually relatively successful when it came to that, but it took a lot of time to achieve that success. In 1988, when the Type 80 MBT was introduced, it was decided to develop the vehicle in two parallel branches. The first would be for limited domestic use and was called Type 88 in Chinese service. The second would be an export version called Type 85.

The initial prototype of this new tank was, once again, developed by NORINCO and was based on the Type 80-II, which had also been introduced by 1988. Development took place between 1988 and 1989. The reason behind the prototype's development was actually rather complex. Initially, NORINCO intended to export the Type 80-II as it was, but during trials they discovered several major problems with it compared to western export types, mostly related to maintenance and reliability. These and other issues were to be addressed in the new prototype that was ready by 1989 and is known under the designations of Storm-1 and Type 85-I. The reason the Type 85 name was chosen was that the developers themselves felt the tank was not on par with the best available in 1989.

The biggest difference between the Type 80-II and the Storm-1 export tank was the brand new, electrically-traversed, welded turret featuring composite armor, which made it more resistant to HEAT shells. Another important factor was that the round, cast turret was not scalable using the technology the Chinese had at their disposal. The old cast turrets were effective against obsolete APCBC ammunition and even with it the non-penetrations could kill the crew just as well. The rest remained mostly as it was.

The Storm-1 tank was generally not a success. It was unreliable and underpowered. Undeterred, NORINCO engineers made a number of changes to the Storm-1 tank that included new transmission, an improved 800hp engine and a new variant of the 105mm gun called Type 83-I. This version became known as Storm-2 or Type 85-II. By May 1990, two prototypes had been built and sent abroad to an undisclosed country for harsh trials. These trials unveiled a number of flaws and unfortunately introduced the vehicle to potential customers in its raw and unfinished form. As a result, Storm-2 met the same fate as its older sibling and remained at the prototype stage. The trials did, however, spark Pakistani interest in the vehicle. Pakistan subsequently requested a number of changes that were included into the vehicle to produce the version known as Type 85-IIAP or Type-85-IIM.

This vehicle was a significant improvement on the Storm-2 prototype. According to the Chinese, the biggest factor in adopting a new MBT for potential customers was improved firepower tied to a modern FCS, which is why for the Type-85-IIM the main weapon was replaced with a 125mm Type 83 smoothbore gun. The gun was a copy of the Soviet 2A46, which had been reverse-engineered from a Romanian T-72 that was given to China after the Romanian-Soviet political split of the 1980s. Pakistan purchased two hundred Type 85-IIAPs. The deal was closed in 1991 and the first vehicles appeared in public during the March 1993 military parade in Islamabad.### Al-Bashir

Class: Main Battle Tank

Developed: 1988-1990

Service: unknown, likely 2002-2006+

Vehicles Built: unknown (anywhere between 10 and 200)

Operators: Sudan

Exile Lore: The Al-Bashir Main Battle Tank is an allegedly license-produced version of the Chinese Type 85-IIM export MBT. It is named after Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir, a former Sudanese head of state deposed in a coup in 2019. The details of the vehicle's production are fairly hazy and it is unclear whether it was manufactured in Sudan completely (unlikely), only assembled or simply imported from China. It is also unclear when the production or delivery took place, some sources suggest between 2002 and 2006.

Very few Al-Bashir tanks were likely built and entered service. Most sources claim roughly 10 vehicles, although some estimates go as high as 200. However, despite their rarity, the Al-Bashir tanks have already seen combat against South Sudanese rebels and at least 2 were lost in combat or captured in 2016. The tank has allegedly performed well against the Ukraine-delivered T-72AVs the rebels were operating, surpassing them at every opportunity.
## Vehicle Traits

* Armored: This vehicle's armor can withstand a lot of punishment, allowing it to survive even serious firefights.
* Heavy Weapon: This vehicle carries one of the largest weapons around with significantly increased damage per shot.
* Extra Turret Protection: This vehicle's turret is better protected than the turrets of other vehicles of this Tier.

## Upgrades

### Armor

Type 85-IIM Stock Armor
 This MBT's front is protected by composite armor. Composite armor consists of combined layers of steel and other material and offers excellent protection against HEAT shells and ATGMs. Its steel sides and rear are considerably more vulnerable.

### Weapon

**Stats:**

* **Depression/Elevation**: -7.0° / 14.0°

## Footnotes

1. ↑ 595 mm at 150m;
447 mm at 500m
2. ↑ 645 mm at 150m;
484 mm at 500m
3. ↑ 18 mm at 100m;
9 mm at 1000m

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