Al-Khalid-I

Al-Khalid-I

Al-Khalid-I

China

VII Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
11.0	11.0	11.0

Class:

PREMIUM

Medium tank

Purchase:Bundle or Gift

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Description

The Al-Khalid-I (Urdu: الخال; lit. eternal) is the Pakistani upgraded variant of NORINCO's MBT2000 by 2020s retrofitted by Heavy Industries Taxila (HIT). After the development of Sino-Pakistani MBT2000 passed for certification by both PLAGF and Pakistan Army, the first series Al-Khalid joined Pakistan Army in 2001 as their new MBT alongside with imported Ukrainian T-80UD against foes; while the MBT received very positive opinion from its operators, the tank would still require further upgrades to keep up with the mainstream of MBT development, especially against Indian Army which have received T-90S and planned for the T-90SM. With sufficient supply engine pack from Ukrainian KMDB and experiences gained on T 85-IIAP's production, Al-Khalid-I eventually received FCS and ergonomic upgrades by 2010s; officially introduced on 28th July 2020, the upgraded tank is now replacing the previous fleet of T 59/69 and further boosting the national defense capability of Pakistan with plans to further upgrade the vehicle with Chinese powerpack and redesigned turret in progress.

Introduced in Update "Dance of Dragons" as a new premium pack for Chinese tech tree, players of the MBT-2000 would soon get the grip on Al-Khalid-I with identical handling, firepower and protection. For new players, the tank features a powerful 1,200 hp engine with great reverse speed, while the mobility can make sure players can invade the flanks of enemies and delivery fatal blow to them; while the protection might not be the best of its tier, it can still sometimes save the tank from total destruction.

General info

Survivability and armour

ERA

Effective action against the cumulative ammunition

Composite armour

Balanced protection against all types of ammunition

Smoke grenades

Creation of a smoke screen in front of the vehicle

ESS

Creation of a smoke screen in the direction of movement of the vehicle

Self-entrenching equipment

Creation of ramparts and trenches in soft ground

Armourfront / side / back

Hull100 / 50 / 45

Turret220 / 50 / 20

Crew3 people

Visibility75 %

Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpful for survival in combat? If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.

Armour type:

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	___ mm	___ mm Top ___ mm Bottom	___ mm	___ - ___ mm
Turret	___ - ___ mm Turret front ___ mm Gun mantlet	___ - ___ mm	___ - ___ mm	___ - ___ mm
Cupola	___ mm	___ mm	___ mm	___ mm

Notes:

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB78 / 36 km/h

RB and SB71 / 32 km/h

Number of gears7 forward

4 back

Weight48.0 t

Engine power

AB2 290 hp

RB and SB1 200 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB47.7 hp/t

RB and SB25.0 hp/t

The Al-Khalid-I retained the Ukrainian Kharkov 6TD-2 engine pack as its power source for mobility and logistical reasons. Thanks to the revised transmission with additional side gears, this enables the tank to reverse at up to -31 km/h, more than enough to retreat from danger.

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	78	36	48	_,___	2,290	__.__	47.71
Realistic	71	32		_,___	1,200	__.__	25

Modifications and economy

Repair cost

AB3 275

RB3 302

SB3 876

Crew training10 000

Experts1 350 000

Aces2 100

Research Aces2 280 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

2 × 150 / 200 / 230 %

2 × 238 / 238 / 238 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Suspension Brake System Filters Transmission Engine	Improved Parts Dozer Blade Improved FPE Crew Replenishment NVD ESS Smoke grenade	Horizontal Drive 125mm_china_APDS_FS_ammo_pack Adjustment of Fire Laser rangefinder Elevation Mechanism Artillery Support 125mm_china_DTW_APDS_FS_ammo_pack 125mm_china_HE_VT_ammo_pack

Armaments

Laser rangefinder

Reduces the error and increases the maximum measurable distance of the rangefinder

Night vision device

Improves visibility by enhancing natural light or active illumination.

Thermal imager

Allows to see thermal radiation in the infrared range day and night

Main armament

125 mm ZPT98 cannon

Two-plane stabilizer

Reduces the swing of the gun in two planes while moving

Autoloader

Automatically feeds projectiles into the breech. The speed does not depend on the skills of the loader

Ammunition49 rounds

First-order22 rounds

Reload7.1 s

Vertical guidance-6° / 14°

As 125 mm calibre has been selected as the calibre for Pakistan Army and the vehicle was developed mostly by NORINCO of Mainland China, Al-Khalid-I also selected the same cannon as ZTZ99 series - the ZPT98 cannon. All the specifications and ammunition options are totally identical to its Chinese cousins aside from having 49 spare ammo as demanded by Pakistan; while the traverse is sufficient at its tier at a much higher speed than Soviet/Russian serial production MBTs, be sure to turn the turret beforehand just in case - NATO tanks mostly have better traverse rate than Al-Khalid.

125 mm ZPT98					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Autoloader
Arcade	49	-6°/+14°	±180°	Two-plane	28.6	39.5	48.0	53.1	56.5	7.10
Realistic					17.9	21.0	25.5	28.2	30.0

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
DTP-125	HEATFS	480	480	480	480	480	480
DTB-125	HE	45	45	45	45	45	45
DTC10-125	APFSDS	577	575	566	555	544	533
DTB12-125	HE-VT*	43	43	43	43	43	43

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
DTP-125	HEATFS	905	18	0.05	0.1	2.62	65°	72°	77°
DTB-125	HE	850	23	0.3	0.1	5.46	79°	80°	81°
DTC10-125	APFSDS	1,770	4.85	-	-	-	78°	80°	81°

Proximity-fused shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Arming distance (m)	Trigger radius (m)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg)	Ricochet
									0%	50%	100%
DTB12-125	HE-VT*	850	23.2	0.3	0.1	500	7	5.3	79°	80°	81°

Note: As premium vehicle, all ammunition is researched once purchased

DTP-125, HEAT-FS, Stock - DTP-125 has been a long-time friend to the Chinese 125 mm gun and is one of the stock shells for the Al-Khalid-I; like many HEATFS of its tier, due to ERA and composite armour being commonplace at its tier, hitting enemies from the front would very likely be fruitless. So if opting for HEATFS to take out enemies, make sure to aim for non-ERA/composite covered parts or by flanking enemies if possible; remembering where their ammunition is located can earn players a quick kill against enemies. It is still a versatile shell to have against all types of ground target.

DTB-125, HE-FS, Stock - DTB-125 is also available as the other stock shell; HEFS can serve as a makeshift anti-tank shell by hitting enemy optics or top plates with low protection and possibly triggering overpressure, dooming the crew and internal compartments of enemy vehicles. This also enables the tank to do "top-down" attacks against tanks behind cover, notably NATO tanks with higher profile and CITV. Thanks to the high explosive content, it is also a better option to knock-out light vehicles right away than the HEATFS.

125-I, APFSDS, Tier I - 125-I (aka 一期弹 or officially, the 一步弹; Phrase/Stage I ammunition) has already been a familiar APFSDS for Chinese MBTs with 125 mm gun, players from ZTZ96 series can soon get on hand with the APFSDS with its good ballistic performance and penetration (the highest for 125 mm APFSDS <500 mm penetration), helping players to go through the stock stages; aim for different weak spots accordingly if facing higher-tier NATO/Warsaw-Pact tanks.

DTC10-125, APFSDS, Tier IV - as the main APFSDS of PLAGF and one of the highest-penetration (non-DU) export APFSDS for 125 mm guns, DTC10-125 (aka 三期弹 or officially, the 三步弹; Phrase/Stage III ammunition; DTC10E when export) can make sure it can also utilize its very high velocity to defeat most enemies it face without problem, this also enables Al-Khalid-I to defeat more advanced MBTs at higher-tier even at long range.

DTB12-125, HE-FS (VT), Tier IV - Unlike Soviet/Russian HE-FS with timed fuse, DTB12 is currently the only HE-VT for its calibre; not only can it still be used as "anti-tank" shells like its stock counterpart albeit with lesser explosive content, enemy aircraft will have to face a 125 mm makeshift AA gun with 7 m trigger radius - it is never a good idea getting hit by such a huge shell.

Ammo racks

Fullammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	7th rack empty	8th rack empty	9th rack empty	10th rack empty	11th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
49	48 (+1)	45 (+4)	42 (+7)	38 (+11)	35 (+14)	32 (+17)	29 (+20)	25 (+24)	24 (+25)	23 (+26)	1 (+48)	No

For sustained combat endurance and demands from Pakistan, the Al-Khalid-I has 49 shells and its propellant onboard scattered around the chassis, mostly concentrated around the turret carousel. While having so many ammunition means missed shots can be compensated by subsequent shots (given the autoloader is not damaged), this also turns the tank into a walking powder keg at full-load, turning the tank into a firework show is never the best idea to end a battle; 23 shells in the autoloader and pre-load of breech are more than enough to finish the battle with relatively ease.

Machine guns

12.7 mm QJC88A machine gun

Ammunition750 rounds

Belt capacity150 rounds

Reload5.0 s

Fire rate600 shots/min

Vertical guidance-6° / 85°

7.62 mm Type 86 machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition4 000 rounds

Belt capacity250 rounds

Reload8.0 s

Fire rate700 shots/min

12.7 mm QJC88A
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Pintle	750 (150)	600	-6°/+85°	±180°

7.62 mm Type 86
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	4,000 (250)	700	-	-

Usage in battles

Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but instead give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Slightly improved protection with larger ERA coverage at turret front and additions on turret baskets
• Powerful main cannon with varieties of ammunition
• Commander override of turret for retaliation
• Excellent mobility
  • 1,200 hp engine with sufficient T/W ratio for flanking tactics
  • Revised transmission enables pseudo-neutral steering and high reverse speed
• Two different magnifications for different engage range with large FOV
• Upgraded with 3rd generation TVD for both gunner and CITV
• Thick turret protection

Cons:

• Fixed 7.1 second reload and infamous AZ-172 autoloader with high detonation rate once being hit
• Inconsistent protection
  • Cast-welded mantle still haunts the frontal protection
  • Insufficient protection at its tier, especially compared to ZTZ99 or T-90 series
• Slow gun vertical traverse due to hydraulic drive
• Engine deck with raised-up plates that blocks rear arc of fire
• Cramped crew layout and densely packed ammunition onboard

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

• MBT-2000 - its ancestor, aka Al-Khalid or VT-1

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.

China medium tanks
ZTZ59	Type 59 · ZTZ59A · ZTZ59D1
ZTZ69	Type 69 · Type 69-IIa
ZTZ88/96	ZTZ88A · ZTZ88B
	ZTZ96 · ZTZ96A · ZTZ96A (P)
ZTZ99	ZTZ99-II · ZTZ99-III
ZTZ99A	ZTZ99A · WZ1001(E) LCT
Export series	MBT-2000 · VT4A1
ROC	CM11
Other	Т-34-85 Gai · Object 122MT "MC"
Bangladesh	T-69 II G
Japan	␗Chi-Ha · ␗Chi-Ha Kai
Pakistan	Al-Khalid-I
USA	␗M4A4 · ␗M4A4 (1st PTG) · ␗M4A1 (75) W · ␗M48A1 · ␗M60A3 TTS
USSR	␗T-34 (1943) · ␗Т-34-85 (S-53) · T-34-85 No.215 · Т-62 №545