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INDUSTRY |
Bangladesh to procure 44 NORINCO-built VT-1A MBTs
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VT-1A MBT, soon to be acquired by Bangaldesh
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Bangladesh has decided to procure 44 NORINCO-built VT-1A MBTs and three armoured
recovery vehicles (ARV) worth 1,201 crore Taka, two Eurocopter AS550C3 Fennec helicopters worth 174 crore
Taka (to be supplied before July next year) for participating in UN peacekeeping operations, and 18 towed field howitzers of the 155mm/39-cal type. Dhaka has increased the allocation for the armed forces to 12,134 crore
Taka in the budget for fiscal year 2011-2012 from 10,918 crore Taka in the previous fiscal year. The VT-1A MBTs will be delivered in phases over a span of 27 months.
In the first phase, 24 MBTs will arrive within 20 months, with the remaining
arriving in the second phase over the next seven months. Payment will be made in
phases over the next eight years. Although the Bangladesh Army wanted to procure
such MBTs since 2003, budgetary limitations precluded such purchases. Subsequent
plans had called for purchasing seven MBTs last year and seven more this year,
but these too were shelved since only NORINCO took part in the tendering
exercise. Consequently, Dhaka re-issued the tenders to which, companies from
China, Russia, Ukraine, and Pakistan responded. Ultimately, NORINCO of China was selected as the lowest bidder, following which a five-member delegation headed by Maj. Gen. Abdul Matin signed the contract deal with the China’s ministry of national defence on June 14 to purchase the MBTs and ARVs.
The 49-tonne VT-1A MBT’s hull is of welded-steel construction with an additional layer of composite armour at the front. As an option, ERA tiles can be added to the glacis plate and nose of the vehicle. This provides a higher level of protection against weapons fitted with HEAT warheads. The driver is seated in the centre and has a single-piece hatch cover that lifts and swings to the right and in front of this are three day-periscopes, the centre one of which can be replaced by a passive periscope for driving at night. The commander is seated on the right and the gunner is seated on the left, with both being provided with single-piece roof hatches and vision devices. Main armament is a chrome-plated 44-calibre 125mm smoothbore gun fitted with a thermal sleeve and fume extractor. It is fed by an automatic loader, which holds a total of 22 projectiles and charges that can be loaded at the rate of eight per minute. The VT-1A is powered by a Ukrainian 6TD water-cooled turbocharged diesel engine rated at 1,200hp. Power-weight ratio is 24 hp/ton, maximum road speed is 69kph, and range is 450km. |
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MAY 2012
Issue
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