These are the first real shots of Type 15 lightweight tank. According to Global Times, they have recently practiced engagement of targets "several kilometers away" and worked with ATGM vehicles that were used to destroy armored vehicles. These tanks belong to the Xizang military command (Tibet Autonomous Region).
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Type 15 lightweight tank firing (Picture source: Chinese MoD/ChinaMil)
The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) has been conducting intensive military exercises of multiple dimensions, including high-altitude tank and anti-tank drills in Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, the large-scale, long-distance maneuver of an army brigade to Northwest China, and nighttime group parachute infiltration, following the fatal clash between China and India in the border region earlier this month of June. As Global Times writes, these PLA drills not only showed that its forces stationed in border regions have high combat capability, but that troops from across China will also come to their aid, and the PLA can repulse any aggression with land-air integrated joint operations, Chinese military experts said.
Multiple types of new weapons and equipment including Type 15 lightweight tanks and HJ-10 anti-tank missile systems attached to the PLA Tibet Military Command recently joined a comprehensive live-fire drill in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau at an elevation of more than 4,700 meters, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on June 17.
“The main threat China faces on its border with India comes from Indian tanks and armored vehicles, but the Type 15 tanks and HJ-10 anti-tank missiles are very strong counters”, Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Thursday.
Type 15 lightweight tank firing (Picture source: Chinese MoD/ChinaMil)
A brigade under the PLA 81st Group Army of the PLA Central Theater Command also conducted a large-scale, long-distance maneuver to an undisclosed location in Northwest China thousands of kilometers away, after which its multiple rocket launcher systems, howitzers and anti-aircraft systems participated in real combat-oriented drills in unfamiliar terrains, CCTV reported.
Another airborne brigade recently held a daytime and nighttime group parachute infiltration drill featuring a thousand paratroopers, as main combatants were mixed with scouts and artillerymen for maximum combat efficiency, according to CCTV.
Separately, aviation troops of the PLA 77th Group Army tested their helicopter pilots in high-elevation regions, with attack helicopters and transport helicopters participating, said a statement the PLA Western Theater Command released on June 18. Previous reports showed that many other forces, including the 75th Group Army of PLA Southern Theater Command and thousands of paratroopers from Central China, have also mobilized to western China. Song said that while the Western Theater Command is responsible for the defense of the border between China and India, forces from other theater commands can also support it.
Tank run of two Type 15 lightweight tanks in Tibet (Picture source: Chinese MoD/ChinaMil)
