Bangladesh army fire testing newly delivered NORINCO VT5 light tanks.

Firing tests of its newly received NORINCO VT5 Light Tanks have been conducted y the Bangladeshi army at Chittagong Firing Range.
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Firing tests of its newly received NORINCO VT5 Light Tanks have been conducted y the Bangladeshi army at Chittagong Firing Range (Picture source: Twitter account of Shakir Imroz)

On November 17, Shakir Imroz tweeted pictures of the first firing tests carried on by the Bangladeshi army with its Chinese-made NORINCO VT5 light Tanks it recently received, as Army Recognition published on November 14. Let us recall that, according to the SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) arms trade database, in 2021, China had already delivered 44 VT5 light tanks to Bangladesh.

The VT5, also named Type 15 or ZTQ-15 in the Chinese army, is a lightweight battle tank designed and manufactured by the Chinese defense company NORINCO (China North Industries Corporation). The VT5 was unveiled to the public during the Zhuhai AirShow China in November 2016.

NORINCO VT5 Light Tank of the Bangladeshi Army (Picture source: Twitter account of Shakir Imroz)

Firing tests of its newly received NORINCO VT5 Light Tanks have been conducted y the Bangladeshi army at Chittagong Firing Range (Picture source: Twitter account of Shakir Imroz)

Bangladesh's armed forces are going through a long-term modernization plan named Forces Goal 2030. It is under a massive expansion and modernization drive as per the plan. The force is being divided into three corps — Central, Eastern and Western. Three new infantry divisions have been raised – the 17th infantry division at Sylhet, the 10th infantry division at Ramu in Cox's Bazar, and the 7th infantry division at Barishal-Patuakhali – to bring the number of total infantry divisions to ten. The soldiers are being equipped with modern gear like Night Vision Goggles (NVG), ballistic helmets, eye-protective gears, bulletproof vests, person-to-person communicators, palmtop GPS devices, and BD-08 assault rifles.

To increase special operation capabilities, a 2nd Commando battalion has been raised. These two battalions form the sole para-commando brigade of the country. Bangladesh Army procured 44 MBT-2000 tanks from China in 2011. The engineers have completed the upgrade of Type 69 tanks to Type 69IIG standard. They are now upgrading 174 Type 59 tanks to the Type 59G Durjoy standard. To increase the mobility of the infantry forces, 300 armoured vehicles such as BTR-80 APC, Otokar Cobra LAV and Bov M11 ARV have been procured.

To modernize the artillery forces, Nora B-52 K2 self-propelled artillery systems have been procured from Serbia. Their firepower is further increased by the addition of two regiments of WS-22 Guided Multiple Rocket Launcher System. For the anti-tank role, Metis-M missile systems and PF-98 rocket systems were procured. Two regiments of FM 90 surface-to-air missile were added in 2016 to enhance air defence capabilities. The army aviation wing is also being modernized: two Eurocopter AS365 Dauphins were put into service in 2012. Six Mil Mi-171Sh were procured in 2016. One C-295W transport aircraft was ordered from Spain and was delivered in 2017. The Bangladesh Army also procured 36 Bramor C4EYE battlefield reconnaissance UAVs from Slovenia in 2017.