The P3 sported a Ukrainian 6TD-2 1,200 horsepower engine but essentially the P2 prototype. The P2 was similar in scope but with a Perkins Condor 1,200 horsepower diesel engine (used in the successful British Challenger MBT series), a French SESM ESM500 (ala the Le Clerc MBT) and western-based fire-control system. The P1 sported the German-based MTU-396 diesel engine mated to an LSG-3000 automatic transmission while fielding a Chinese-made 125mm main gun, fire-control system and autoloader. Each was differentiated mainly by their selection of powerplants. There appeared four major prototypes designated simply as P1, P2, P3 and P4. At the core of the new tank design was to be ease-of-production, a system that could readily accept the use of foreign powerpacks. Prototypes appeared the following year and went into evaluation. Design was handled on both the part of NORINCO Factory 617 of China and Heavy Industries Taxila (HIT) of Pakistan with a partnership officially inked in January of 1990. In most respects, the Al-Khalid can be viewed as the "ultimate" evolution of the successful Soviet T-54 system.ĭesign on the Al-Khalid ran through most of the 1990's to which the system was then known as the "MBT 2000". Additionally, engines are of Ukrainian origin while production is handled within Pakistan. Its indirect lineage can be traced back to the Soviet Cold War-era T-54 series while its direct lineage stems from the Chinese NORINCO Type 90-II main battle tank. The Al-Khalid is essentially a hybrid tank design with systems, armament and subsystems originating from a variety of global sources though the tank system itself, as a whole, is a locally-produced product native to Pakistan.
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