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Type 96 tank
Photo: Vitaly V. Kuzmin · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
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Type96tank

Tanks · People's Republic of China · 1997
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Type96tank

⚙ Type 85-IIM tank variant
Type 96 tank
Type 96 tank Photo: Vitaly V. Kuzmin · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
* Absolute score — assessed within category · no era adjustment
Firepower
85
Protection
75
Mobility
70
Technology
80
Reliability
70
Crew Survivability
75
Operational Range
65
Logistics
70
Historical Performance
70
Strategic Impact
60
Origin People's Republic of China
ManufacturerInner-Mongolia First Machine Group Company Limited
CategoryTanks
EraPost-Cold War
In service1997
Operators3 countries
Quantity2,500
Data Quality84%
MASS(Military Archive Scoring System)
74
Tanks MASS Rating
7/35
Post-Cold War
30/563
All-Time
Tanks · 10 axes scored
Firepower
85
Protection
75
Mobility
70
Technology
80
Reliability
70
Crew Survivability
75
Operational Range
65
Logistics
70
Historical Performance
70
Strategic Impact
60
ⓘ Regardless of era, the same scoring system applies to all units in the tanks category.
01 / Overview
Type 96 tank
Category
Production
1997–
Quantity
2,500
Operators
💰 PERFORMANCE / PRICE ASSESSMENT Methodology ↗
TANKS · POST-COLD WAR
7
PERFORMANCE/PRICE
75
UNIT COST (2025 USD)
—
74
tanks category
ⓘ Performance/Price and MASS score are computed across all units in the tanks category, regardless of era.
02 / Specs & Design
◎General5MOD.5
◈Firepower8MOD.8
▣Protection5MOD.5
◇Mobility7MOD.7
  • Engine Power730 hp
  • Power-to-Weight Ratio17.8 hp/t
  • Fuel TypeDiesel
  • Transmission TypeManual
  • Suspension TypeTorsion Bar
  • Max Road Speed65 km/h
  • Operational Range (Road)400 km
◆Dimensions3MOD.3
  • Length (Hull)6.33 m
  • Width3.45 m
  • Height2.3 m
▲Production & Service3MOD.3
  • Total Production Units2,500
  • Current Service StatusActive Service
  • Notable Variants Count3
03 / History
SERVICE LIFESPANStill in Service
  1. 1997Production started
29
years in service
2,500
units produced
3
countries operating
ⓘ The producing country still actively operates it.
04 / Operators
📖 TERMS ON THIS PAGE19terms
Armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot: a type of kinetic energy penetrator ammunition.
Anti-Tank Guided Missile: a missile designed to destroy tanks.
Automated loading system for tank guns, reducing crew workload.
A Battle Management System (BMS) is a command‑and‑control software suite that gathers, processes, and shares battlefield data to provide situational awareness and coordinate the actions of military units.
Computerised Advanced: a tank fire‑control system generation that uses digital computers to calculate ballistic solutions and integrate sensor data for enhanced targeting accuracy.
Type of internal combustion engine fuel, refined from crude oil.
Explosive Reactive Armor (ERA): Modular armor system that detonates upon impact to disrupt incoming warheads, reducing penetration of shaped charges and kinetic energy projectiles.
High-Explosive Fragmentation: ammunition that explodes on impact, releasing fragments.
High-Explosive Anti-Tank: a type of projectile that uses a shaped charge to penetrate armor.
Optical device that uses laser pulses to measure the distance to a target with high precision.
A main battle tank is a heavily armored vehicle with a large caliber gun, used for front-line combat.
Manual: a tank transmission in which the driver selects gear changes manually, typically using a clutch pedal and gear lever to engage gears.
Nuclear, Biological, Chemical protection for tank crews.
Enhanced low-light visibility through specialized optics or sensors.
Reactive composite armor is a tank armor type that combines layers of composite material with embedded reactive elements that detonate on impact to disrupt incoming projectiles.
Handheld or vehicle-mounted devices that release dense smoke to obscure vision, conceal movements, or screen friendly forces from enemy observation.
A smoothbore gun is a firearm with an unrifled barrel, allowing projectiles to travel without spin; it is commonly used in modern tank main guns for firing fin‑stabilized ammunition.
Thermal sights are infrared imaging devices mounted on a tank's gunner station that detect heat emitted by objects, enabling target identification and aiming in low‑visibility conditions.
A torsion bar is a steel rod that resists twisting and serves as a spring in tank suspensions, with one end fixed to the hull and the other connected to a lever arm moving the road wheel.
These terms are listed automatically because they appear on this page.full encyclopedia →
📚 Sources
📖 ENCYCLOPEDIA Browse the Tanks entry →