According to news from the US Defense News website on June 28, General Dynamics Company successfully bid and won a large contract worth US$1.14 billion from the US military. It will take over the production of 96 "Mobile Protected Firepower" (MPF) light tanks. It is expected to be launched in 2025. 42 vehicles were delivered in the fiscal year, and the total planned purchase volume of the US military is 504 vehicles. From a time perspective, the U.S. military's universal MPF lags behind the Chinese Army's light tank by a full 10 years. Compared with the "Black Panther" Type 15 light tank installed in China in 2018, what are the general MPF's insufficient?
U.S. General Dynamics displays its latest light tank (Source: Global Times)
Weight issue
When the U.S. Army launched the MPF program in 2015, the expected weight of the tank was "the total combat weight does not exceed 32 tons", which required sufficient firepower, protection and mobility. Later, the U.S. Army updated its plan and relaxed the weight requirement to 38 tons. It also hopes that the tank will have combat capabilities in multiple regional environments and can cooperate with other ground forces.
The current general-purpose MPF weighs about 35 tons, which is slightly "nearly high nor low". The "War Zone" column of The Drive website complained in the report that this weight is 20 tons heavier than the previous generation of American light tanks and only about 2 tons lighter than the Army's latest M2A4 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle. In other words, the universal MPF is actually about the same weight as an active infantry fighting vehicle, and its tactical maneuverability is not optimistic.
General Dynamics of the United States displays its latest light tank (Source: Global Times)
China's "Panther" Type 15 light tank, which was installed in 2018, is mainly used for combat in mountainous and plateau areas, and weighs between 33 tons and 36 tons. The time is adjustable. When the Xinjiang Military Region's troops first installed the 15 light tank , they took it to a plateau and cold area with an altitude of more than 4,300 meters for training, and performed well. The 15 light tank once aroused heated discussion: "Those who can beat me can't get up, and those who can get up can't beat me."
The Type 15 light tank participating in the 2019 National Day Parade (Source: Global Times New Media )
The protection is relatively thin
The lack of weight of the light tank itself limits its armor protection level. The general MPF also adopts a front-engine design, which further weakens the frontal armor. Although the US military adopts a sloped armor layout, the problem of armor weakness still exists objectively.
The problems faced by the universal MPF are also faced by the Type 15. However, the solution given by the Chinese military is to adopt a modular design idea. Large armor modules can be hung on the sides at any time to resist rocket launchers and high-explosive anti-reaction weapons. Weapon invasion of tank warheads.
Firepower is the same as 10 years ago
In General Dynamics’ original plan, General MPF planned to install the XM360 120mm tank gun as its core firepower system. However, due to the adoption of a large number of weight reduction and recoil reduction measures, the production cost skyrocketed. , and finally replaced it with a 105mm rifled gun. This makes the general MPF have no advantage in terms of firepower compared with the "Panther". There is a ten-year gap between the two. In comparison, the general MPF loses.
Type 15 light tanks training in high-altitude areas of Tibet (Source: Global Times New Media)
Sustained combat capability issues
In terms of firepower, the General MPF will continue to use 105mm rifled guns and will not use automatic loaders. This It requires an extra loader in the vehicle, which is not conducive to sustained high-intensity combat.
The Type 15 light tank uses a tail cabin-type automatic loader, which can store up to 18 rounds of shells, and the maximum rate of fire can reach 8 rounds per minute. Moreover, the turret adopts an ammunition compartment design, and the explosion holes can prevent secondary explosions after being hit, better ensuring the safety of the soldiers in the tank, and improving the continuous combat capability in disguise.
The model previously exhibited by General Dynamics
The US military spent a lot of money on the research and development of this tank. In 2018, in order to develop prototype vehicles, the U.S. Army paid US$335 million and US$375.9 million to General Dynamics and BAE Systems Company respectively. Whether these problems will be solved now depends on the official debut of the general MPF in 2025.
