A CHINK IN CHINESE ARMOUR

PLA tanks have a surprising vulnerability, reports ARITRA BANERJEE

- ARITRA BANERJEE

The Chinese military machine has been growing at a blistering pace. With the development of state-of-the-art stealth aircraft and naval vessels, the country has come close to the United States regarding technological prowess. However, it is not all about catching up for China. Some analysts see the dragon outpacing the US in the hypersonic missile race and even developing anti-ballistic ship missiles. Yet, experts have noted that although it is striding forward in developing strategic weapons, China has a chink in its armour!

This weak point is the country’s tanks. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has a range of tanks- while some features showcase extensive hardware capabilities, many are designed with one fatal flaw- critical areas of several of the dragon’s tanks have only naked steel-plated armour to defend them. This design leaves them vulnerable to attack by weapons as old as 1960s-era high explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warheads.

This has often led some observers to question whether the seeming design flaw stems from the lack of know-how, a paucity of funds, or is perhaps the result of a very different military doctrine compared to other major military powers like the US and Russia, for example. But before exploring the Achilles’ heel of these metal powerhouses, it is important to understand what kind of firepower China actually possesses when it comes to tanks.

The dragon’s scales