Chinese army main battle tank Type 96A join Peace Mission 2013 China-Russia military exercise 050813.

A total of 88 heavy ground combat vehicles, including Type 96A main battle tanks, from the Chinese side, rolled into the Chebarkul combined training range as the joint drill, code-named Peace Mission-2013, entered the phase of battle planning on Saturday.

These heavy ground combat vehicles were smoothly transported there from some 5,080 kilometers away through the trans-Siberia railway artery.

Russia's high-ranking officers participating in the drill spoke highly of the Chinese troops's smooth deployment in the first phase of the drill, saying that strategic mobility and strategic transport were very complicated and difficult and the Chinese troops had done a good job.

Peace Mission-2013 is divided into three phases - troop deployment, battle planning and simulated combat.

The ZTZ96 A/G main battle tank was first revealed in 2006. The ZTZ96A was showed for the first time to the public, during the military parade at Beijing in 2009.

The main armament of the ZTZ96A or Type 96A is composed with a smoothbore 125 mm gun with autoloader of Russian 2A46M design. Auxiliary weapons include one 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun, with a maximum fire-range of 1,800 m and a fire rate of 250 rounds/min.