At present, there are many tank projects in parallel at the first machine plant, the 69-2 and Storm tanks are exported to the outside world, and the 69-3 and 1223 tanks are used for their own use.

Now, if you look closely, the 69-3 tank and the 1223 tank, in fact, the upper turret is almost the same, the main difference is the lower hull, one is five pairs of load wheels, the other is six pairs of load wheels.

"Lao Huang, why do you feel that your interest in that tank is higher than that one here?" Zhu Lao asked Huang Lao.

Huang Lao smiled helplessly: "This is not forced by money, if the army has money, can it still be used to buckle the rope?" ”

The turret of both tanks is the same, which means that the combat effectiveness of both tanks is the same, but the mobility is different, the six pairs of load-bearing wheels are more stable, the space inside the hull is larger, the engine is more powerful, and that's it.

At the same time, the cost of six pairs of load-bearing wheels will be higher.

Therefore, for the army, the two tanks are estimated to be synchronized equipment, and at the same time, since the five pairs of load-bearing wheels use the existing chassis, it will definitely enter active service earlier.

"If from the point of view of forming combat effectiveness as soon as possible and reducing costs at the same time, the Type 69-3 tank should be the first equipment that can be put into active service in our country, this 1223 tank, we are about to start testing, however, during the test run, it is estimated that there will be some small problems."

The process of developing a tank is destined to be long, not just to build the tank, but to go through a long test run, in the process of test run, you will encounter all kinds of problems, solve these problems, and finally make the tank mature, is what they have to do.

This process is often calculated over years.

There are also tests such as cold zone tests, tropical tests, etc., which will take several years at a time, and the follow-up test progress of the 1223 tank will slow down, but this 69-3 will definitely be fast.

"What is the difference between this 69-3 tank, and the 59 modification?" Xie Huimin of the Second Machine Factory asked.

This, what's the difference? If you look at it from a layman's eye, it's almost identical.

"The difference? The difference is huge. Qin Zhenhua said with a smile: "One of them is second-hand refurbished, and the other is first-hand new, Director Xie, you even have to ask about the difference?" ”

The 69-3 tank, the biggest improvement is the installation of a 105 mm tank gun, and the improvement of the 59 tank will also use this tank gun, at the same time, the use of the second generation passive low-light night vision system; Equipped with a simple fire control system of the TSFCS type with a digital ballistic computer, etc., these are all improved by using existing mature technologies, 69-3 was built in this way, and the 59 tank was also modified in this way.

If you look at it from the appearance, the previous 59 tank, the side tracks are all bare, and this 69-3 tank, finally installed the side skirts, the upper part of the track is wrapped, so it looks, somewhat modernized, of course, to the troops, it is estimated that it has to be unloaded by the soldiers, and this thing is added in order to protect the tracks and detonate the metal jet in advance, but during normal training, with this thing, the maintenance of the tank tracks is inconvenient.

"yes, that's a big difference." Xie Huimin said with a smile.

Although it lost in this bidding in the end, the Second Machine Factory also made artillery anyway, and the tanks made by the First Machine Factory and the improved tanks all needed their 105 mm tank guns, so the Second Machine Factory was still able to get a steady stream of benefits, so although the Second Machine Factory failed in the bidding, it was not too annoyed.

105-mm tank guns, constantly equipped, they also have a large source of profit.

"Since it is a new tank, we continue to use the original 69-3 number, is it not domineering enough?" Qin Zhenhua suddenly thought of something and said, "Our troops, are you going to give them a brand new number?" ”

In China, there are many kinds of tank numbers, similar to WZ122 and the like, which are all given by the factory, 1223, 1224, are also the number given by the factory, and when it comes to the army, when it comes to service, it is necessary to have a number from the army, similar to the 69 tank, the number in the factory, is WA121.

Now, is it still numbered with the original 69-3?

If you continue to use this number, I always feel that it is not enough to reflect the advanced nature of this tank.

"yes, we have to have a new number, 59, 69, and next, this tank, called the 79 tank, how about it?" Huang Lao said.

According to the concept of continuity, it would be good to fix it in this way.

"Well, this 69-3 tank, called the 79 tank, is no problem, but what about our second-generation tank? It can't be called an 89 tank, right? ”

A few years ago, the domestic technical force was weak, and it was ten years to sharpen a sword, so, 59 to 69, 69 to 79, there is no problem, but if you give the second-generation tank, the 1223 tank in front of you, a number of 89 tanks, it is not appropriate, it is too far, it is estimated that by that time, the imitation T-72 tank will come out.

"Yes, in recent years, our domestic tank research and development has been changing with each passing day." Huang Lao sighed and said: "In the future, the number of tanks will be closer and closer, I think, let's start with the 1223 tank, this tank, in our army, is called 80 tanks?" ”

The eighties, the new atmosphere, the new era!

New tanks, starting with the number of 80, and later, there will be numbers of 85, 90, and maybe even closer, the tank industry, is developing vigorously, moreover, this development, which was achieved in the context of the continuous reduction of army orders, is even more valuable.

79 tanks, 80 tanks, the official naming is issued, that is the need for the decision of the superiors, however, as long as the armored forces are reported, it will basically be approved, there will not be too many problems, now, the new number that everyone said in jokes, in the future, will become the two famous tanks in China.

One, the ultimate facelift of the T-54 tank, ended up with a significant number of 79 tanks, and the other, a representative tank of the new six pairs of load-bearing wheels, became the first second-generation tank in service with 80 tanks!

These two tanks, the structure above, are basically exactly the same, and the technology is also mature, except...

"Now, our tank gun is basically complete, but there is still a basic attachment missing on it." Qin Zhenhua said.

What's missing?

Everyone looked over, but they didn't see what was missing from this barrel, and even more than the previous barrel: the thing in the middle of the barrel that was obviously a lot thicker was a special smoke extraction device, which could prevent the smoke from entering the turret after firing, which made the tank crew obviously feel much better.

What's missing? Didn't you?