Type 90 Tank - Program
Around 1975, when the Type 74 tank began to be deployed, the Soviet Union began deploying the T-64 equipped with a 125mm smoothbore gun, composite armor , and an automatic loader, as well as the new T-72 tank. In the West, the Leopard 2, a third-generation tank , appeared in 1977, and the Type 74 tank was in a situation where it would become obsolete in a few years. Therefore, research and development of a new tank began in 1976, shortly after the Type 74 tank was deployed.
Partial prototyping of components began in 1977, and in 1980 the development requirements for a new tank were finalized, and in 1982 primary prototyping began. In the first prototype, two prototypes were built and tested from 1983 to 1986. In 1986, the second prototype started, and four prototype cars were manufactured and various tests were conducted. A total of 20,500km running tests and 3,100 shots of main gun live fire tests were conducted with 4 cars, and various tests were conducted in various environments. In 1989, a practical test was conducted by the Ground Self-Defense Force, and then in August 1990, it was officially adopted as a 90-type tank and mass production began, and deployment began in September 1991.
Due to the deployment plan that emphasizes the north of the Soviet Union, it was preferentially deployed in Hokkaido, so other than that, there are only a small number of tank training units in Fuji and a small number for training in the Weapons School in Tsuchiura and the 1st Armored Training Corps in Komakado. be. The procurement price, which was initially about 1.1 billion yen, fell with mass production, fell below 900 million yen in 1999, and remained around 800 million yen from 2001 onwards. By the end of production in 2010, 341 cars had been produced. Since it did not replace Honshu's Type 74 tank, a small and lightweight Type 10 tank was developed and deployed as its successor.
Although Hokkaido is the center of deployment of Type 90 tanks, in October 2011, four Type 90 tanks and many other armored vehicles were transported from Hokkaido to Kyushu for training on the private high-speed ferry "Nacchan World". It has been transported to Oita in Japan, and is expected to be operated outside of Hokkaido in the event of an emergency.
Why did the government continue to buy the type-90 tanks, which were developed to counter a Soviet attack, when there was no longer a viable threat of a Soviet attack? The Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) was undergoing a qualitative improvement similar to the GSDF. The Osumi class ship can carry up to ten Type 90 tanks, 390 troops, and can launch two air-cushioned landing craft (LCAC) from its floodable well deck. The Osumi goes well beyond logistical support and gives the MSDF the beginnings of a credible power projection capability.
Though unable to explain the need, the government went on procuring the Type-90 tanks. 341 tanks in total were procured for about 300 billion yen between FY 1990 and FY 2009. With the procurement of the Type-90 tanks ending in 2009, the government began to procure a new model, the Type-10 tank, from FY 2010. Type 90 tanks cost $10.5 million apiece, or about twice what a comparable tank would have cost in the United States.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
