China Supplying Latest VT-4 Tank with New Active Protection Systems to Bangladesh – Reports

A VT-4 main battle tank has for the first time appeared in Bangladesh Army camouflage, fuelling speculation that a contract for the sale of the vehicles has already been signed. The tank in question appears to be a modernised variant integrating the new GL-5 hard-kill active protection system, which has not been procured by other clients. The VT-4 is produced solely for export, and has been acquired in significant numbers by Pakistan and Thailand while also being evaluated by Algeria. The tank uses composite armour and FY-4 explosive reactive armour for protection, which reportedly provide an equivalent of approximately 700mm of protection. The vehicles are expected to replace the over 100 Bangladesh Army Type-59 tanks, which were produced during the Cold War as enhanced derivatives of the Soviet T-55 design.

The Bangladesh Army’s entire operational fleet of over 250 main battle tanks consists of Chinese supplied vehicles, including the Type 59, its updated variant the Type 69, as well as China’s first class of tank developed specifically for export the Type 90 II which was produced from the 2000s. More recently, the Bangladesh Army in 2022 procured VT-5 light tanks, otherwise known as the Type 15, which made it the only foreign operator of the class, with the vehicles expected to replace the older Type 62 light tanks in service. The VT-5 was developed with amphibious operations and operations in mountainous terrain in mind, and provides Chinese forces with a distinct advantage operating in the Himalayan border regions with India. Procuring a modernised variant of the VT-4 will provide Bangladesh with the most capable class of main battle tank in South or Southeast Asia, with active protection systems being a relatively new technology that has yet to proliferate widely in the region.

The VT-4’s 125mm main gun is compatible with a wide range of advanced specialised munitions, with penetrative anti-armour rounds are thought to be among the most capable in the world. Although not as capable as the heavier Type 99A relied on by China’s most elite armoured units, the VT-4 uses many of the same technologies and is not only significantly less costly to procure, but is also reportedly much easier to maintain and operate. With Russia having previously been by far the world’s greatest tank exporter, the country’s limited capacity to continue exports as a result of the Russian-Ukrainain War has provided new opportunities for the VT-4 in particular to gain significant market share abroad. The Bangladesh Armed Forces are reported to be considering procuring a range of other Chinese systems, including both J-10C and JF-17 Block 3 ‘4+ generation’ fighter aircraft.