China’s latest armored duo—the Type 100 Main Battle Tank and its support vehicle—are not just new machines. They’re a statement. A declaration that the PLA is ready to leapfrog into the realm of fourth-generation warfare, where sensors, drones, and data links matter more than raw armor thickness.
Visual Identification: A Break from the Past
Forget the familiar lines of the Type 99A or the boxy silhouette of the Type 96. The Type 100 MBT is a different beast:
Unmanned turret with jagged, multi-faceted armor geometry.
- Compact hull with a low profile and reduced weight (~40 t).
- Remote Weapons Station perched atop the turret, often with a 12.7 mm HMG.
- No visible reactive armor blocks—everything is integrated and digital.
The support vehicle is equally distinct:
- Smaller chassis with a 40 mm cannon.
- Vertical launch cells (3×2) for missiles or loitering munitions.
- A radar mast and drone bay—earning it the nickname “mini Aegis destroyer on land.”
Capabilities: More Than Just Metal
The Type 100 MBT is built around a hybrid diesel-electric powertrain, pushing 1,500 hp. It can move silently in electric-only mode, a feature aimed at stealthy maneuvering. Its 105 mm rifled gun, paired with an autoloader, fires high-velocity rounds that supposedly rival NATO’s 120 mm smoothbores.
Protection comes from dual GL-6 active protection systems, electronic warfare jammers, and a full suite of sensors—thermal, laser, UV, IR. The crew, just three people, sit in a heavily armored capsule and wear AR helmets linked to the tank’s digital brain.
The support vehicle complements this with drone control, air defense, and electronic warfare capabilities. It’s designed to extend the MBT’s reach, both kinetically and digitally. It can also carry a two-man team of specialist, initially ATGM team was mentioned, but those could be replaced with snipers/scouts, EW specialists or even a medical team, though knowing the value of a life in the Chinese military that is unllikely.
Doctrine: Untested and Unproven
Here’s the catch: none of this has seen combat. The vehicles are impressive on paper and in parades, but China’s armored doctrine remains largely theoretical. The PLA emphasizes simulations, exercises, and centralized control—but how these systems will perform under real battlefield stress is anyone’s guess. Chinese exercises that are shown to foreign observers remain strictly scripted plays with zero improvisation or initiative allowed to the troops or their commanders.
Will the unmanned turret hold up under fire? Can the digital links survive electronic warfare? Will AI-assisted coordination work in the chaos of war?
Until these questions are answered in combat, the Type 100 and its companion remain fascinating—but unproven—entries in the global armor race.
Final Thoughts
Visually distinct, technologically ambitious, and doctrinally bold—the Type 100 MBT and its support vehicle are China’s bet on the future of warfare. Whether that bet pays off will depend not just on engineering, but on experience. And that’s something the PLA still lacks. While the data PLA is constantly receiving from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, both from Moscow and Pyongyang, is valuable, it's not the same tactical or strategic situation, that the Chinese forces would face in the Pacific, Taiwan or South China Sea theaters.
By Petri Mäkelä
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