Lieutenant general Shaheen Mehmood, the commander of the Mangla Corps, on Wednesday visited the armoured division and inspected the primary batch of VT-4 tanks, the army’s media affairs wing said during a statement. Major General Rashid Mahmood briefed the commander about ongoing post-shipment inspections of the primary batch of tanks, the statement said. General Mehmood also witnessed the mobility and manoeuvrability test of the tanks, reported PTI.
Pakistan army said, after their on-field tests in September last year, that the VT-4 tanks would be used in an offensive role by strike formations after induction. “The VT-4 is compatible with any modern tank within the world integrating advanced armour protection, manoeuvrability, firepower capabilities and state-of-the-art technology,” the military said.
Pakistan has heavily relied on China to shop for defence weapons and procured several such artillery to spice up its capability along the border with India.
In 2018, Pakistan was learnt to possess around 17 units of Chinese origin T-59 and T69 tanks, which comprise 30 per cent of its total tank strength, people conversant in the matter said. It also has 12 regiments of Al-Zarar tanks, which makes 20 per cent of the tank fleet while Ukrain origin T-80-UD and T-85 UD, also as an upgraded version of T-59 tanks, comprise the remainder of the 50 per cent tank fleet.
