Thai Military Impressed with the Capabilities of its New Chinese Made VT-4 Battle Tanks

A longtime client for Western armaments, Thailand's acquisition of its first ever Chinese made tanks, the Norinco VT-4, have left the Military throughly impressed with its capabilities. While the Thai military previously fielded U.S. M-60 and M-48 battle tanks and a small contingent of more advanced Ukrainian T-80 platforms, the modern Chinese tanks have far surpassed the capabilities of all these platforms. The Royal Thai Army conducted tests on the VT-4 at the Royal Thai Army Cavalry Centre at Adisorn military camp in Saraburi, and the capabilities won high praise from the Thai army. Their performance was widely observed by the press, which reported positively in its capabilities.

The VT-4 was developed by China exclusively for export, and much like the JF-17 fighter the platform is not used by the Chinese People's Liberation Army itself. Thailand is as of yet the only operator of the platform, though a successful performance and positive response by the Thai Military is expected to facilitate further sales to other potential clients. Pakistan, Peru, Indoensia and Sudan are among the leading potential clients. The VT-4 is a third generation platform analogous to the U.S. M1 Abrams and Russian T-90, though it lacks several of the cutting edge features installed on the Type 99 - the more costly elite third generation battle tank used by the PLA.

The VT-4 was first displayed by the Thai military in January 2018 after the first units were delivered in October the preceding year. Following the battle tank's demonstration the commander at the Royal Thai Army Cavalry Centre announced to the press his satisfaction with VT-4, calling it a world class advanced tank with a excellent informatization, manoeuvrability and firepower. Thai Army chief General Chalermchai Sitthisart stated that China and Thailand were set to jointly build a repair and maintenance center for the VT-4 to ensure the production and maintenance of its accessories - with the center expected to serve platforms across all of South East Asia where future sales are expected.

The platform's success is seen as proof of China's growing role as a major arms exporter capable of outmatching most minor producers such as France and Britain in cost effectiveness while increasingly contending with the better established Russian and U.S. exports. The VT-4 notably come at under a third of the price of the extremely costly if not overpriced European tank platforms, weapons which have in recent years significantly underperformed in combat. While Thailand has received just 28 VT-4 tanks, following the success of their performance the cabinet approved the acquisition of ten additional platforms. Further orders are expected in future to make the VT-4 the mainstay of the Thai military's armoured warfare capabilities.