ZTZ99A

ZTZ99A

ZTZ99-III

ZTZ99A

ZTZ99-III

China

VIII Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
12.0	12.0	12.0

Class:

Medium tank

Research:400 000

Purchase:1 080 000

Description

The ZhuangJia Tanke ZhuZhan 99A (ZTZ99A式主战坦克; coded WZ1001) is a rank VIII Chinese medium tank with a battle rating of 12.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Danger Zone".

Currently the end of the line of PLAGF MBT and the second-latest PLAGF tank in service, ZTZ99A ditched the Warsaw Pact low profile design and opted for a larger turret and sporting a new powerpack while retaining the similar protection to its predecessor- ZTZ99-III; with all the new features found on ZTZ99A, PLAGF enjoyers can finally make good use of the latest Chinese technologies on tanks to take out its enemies with its surprisingly good mobility.

*Note:ZTZ99A (WZ1001) has very little technological connection to ZTZ99-II/III (WZ123)

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

LWS

Notifies about the vehicle's exposure to laser emissions

Self-entrenching equipment

Creation of ramparts and trenches in soft ground

Armourfront / side / back

Hull70 / 50 / 45

Turret85 / 60 / 35

Crew3 people

Visibility75 %

Although sharing the number 99 in its name, ZTZ99A in fact has very little technological relationship to previous WZ123s other than the name. ZTZ99A has a completely new design from ZTZ99s (aside from its ZTZ99AY prototype which used the chassis of WZ123) with a higher overall profile to previous tanks comparable to NATO tanks. Featuring an arrow-shaped composite armor block and new FY-5 ERA with up to 250mm KE protection covering the turret; in case of top-down missiles, the new FY-1D1 ERA covering the top of turret can migrates some damages from top-down attacks. But in case of the hull, since the design requirement was equivalent protection to previous ZTZ99s, aside from the UFP armor itself, there's only FY-4 covering the UFP as well as the sides of the turret.

Another major difference is that the driver is moved to the right side of the hull (from enemy's perspective), if players didn't differentiate a 99A to 99s, it is very likely that shots landed on its UFP proved fruitless. To say at least, aside from the headlights on the UFP , LFP and the mantle, ZTZ99A will have a better protection at its frontal arc than his predecessors.

Armour type:

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	___ mm	50mm Top 20mm (28°) Bottom	45 mm (10°) Upper plate 45 mm (45°) Lower glacis 20 mm Engine vent	___ - ___ mm
Turret	___ - ___ mm Turret front ___ mm Gun mantlet	___ - ___ mm	___ - ___ mm	___ - ___ mm
Cupola	___ mm	___ mm	___ mm	___ mm

Notes:

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB84 / 38 km/h

RB and SB76 / 35 km/h

Number of gears12 forward

6 back

Weight55.0 t

Engine power

AB2 862 hp

RB and SB1 500 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB52.0 hp/t

RB and SB27.3 hp/t

The efforts of Chinese armored vehicle designers in the first decade of 21st century have finally riped- ZTZ99A sports a new powerpack consists of NORINCO Shaanxi 12V150HB-1 diesel engine and CH1000 transmission. With 1500 hp power output when spaded and having a DCT transmission, it is THE fastest MBT in game at 75 km/h and having a unpreceded -34 km/h reverse on any Warsaw Pact or tanks in Chinese service; the new transmission also makes ZTZ99A a huge but nimble tank in terms of its turning radius, vastly improves its reaction time to enemies or in case for a quick retreat.

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	84	38	55	_,___	2,862	__.__	52.04
Realistic	76	35		_,___	1,500	__.__	27.27

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB4 235 → 6 932

RB4 112 → 6 731

SB5 208 → 8 525

Total cost of modifications282 700

471 000

Talisman cost3 100

Crew training310 000

Experts1 080 000

Aces2 200

Research Aces1 280 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

150 / 190 / 210 %

250 / 250 / 250 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 390 Suspension Research: 14 000 Cost: 22 000 360 Brake System Research: 14 000 Cost: 22 000 360 Filters Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 390 Transmission Research: 14 000 Cost: 22 000 360 Engine Research: 14 000 Cost: 22 000 360	Improved Parts Research: 4 500 Cost: 23 000 390 Dozer Blade Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 390 Improved FPE Research: 4 200 Cost: 22 000 360 Crew Replenishment Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 390 NVD Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 390 ESS Research: 14 000 Cost: 22 000 360 Smoke grenade Research: 14 000 Cost: 22 000 360	Horizontal Drive Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 390 Adjustment of Fire Research: 14 000 Cost: 22 000 360 LWS/LR Research: 14 000 Cost: 22 000 360 Elevation Mechanism Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 390 125mm_china_ATGM_ammo_pack Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 390 Artillery Support Research: 14 000 Cost: 22 000 360 125mm_china_DTW_APDS_FS_ammo_pack Research: 14 000 Cost: 22 000 360 125mm_china_HE_VT_ammo_pack Research: 14 000 Cost: 22 000 360

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 Type 99A 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

Ammunition39 rounds

First-order22 rounds

Reload7.1 s

Vertical guidance-5° / 13°

The new ZPT99A gun on ZTZ99A is similar to previous ZPT98 gun, both gun shared very similar characteristics with high muzzle velocity, straight ballistics and featured an autoloader; although the turret traverse speed hindered some of its combat capabilities, it is certainly an improvement to previous tanks.

125 mm Type 99A					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	39	-5°/+13°	±180°	Two-plane	__._	__._	__._	__._	__._	7.1	7.1	7.1	7.1
Realistic					__._	__._	__._	__._	__._

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
125-I	APFSDS	466	464	458	450	442	434
DTC10-125	APFSDS	577	575	566	555	544	533
GP125	ATGM (tandem)	850	850	850	850	850	850
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) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
DTP-125	HEATFS	905	18	0.05	0.1	2,190	65°	72°	77°
DTB-125	HE	850	23	0	0.1	5,460	79°	80°	81°
125-I	APFSDS	1,730	4.02	N/A	N/A	N/A	78°	80°	81°
DTC10-125	APFSDS	1,770	4.85	N/A	N/A	N/A	78°	80°	81°
GP125	ATGM (tandem)	400	17.2	0.01	0.4	4,720	80°	82°	90°
DTB12-125	HE-VT*	850	23.2	0.01	0.1	5,300	79°	80°	81°

In fact all the trio of ZTZ99s shared the very same ammunition since "Danger Zone", so the usage of these shells are identical from one another.

HEATFS

The stock DTP-125 HEAT-FS round has the typical penetration of 480 mm shared by Western MBTs with 120 mm guns, but this is not enough to deal with tanks with composite armour, which are the norm at top tiers. The post-penetration damage is also disappointing. Only use it as an interim shell before APFSDS is unlocked. With 2.19 kg of explosive mass, it is sometimes capable of knocking out light targets like SPAAs and light tanks with overpressure damage, so keep an eye out for those.

HEFS

The stock DTB-125 HE shell is once again the strongest of any top-rank MBT. It can actually cause more damage to MBTs than the HEAT-FS round if fired at turret rings, hull roofs, and turret cupolas, especially after the introduction of pressure damage. Well placed impacts have a good chance of transmitting the shockwave into the crew compartment and knocking the target out instantly, even against the toughest MBTs like the Leopard 2A6. It helps to keep a few HE rounds around even after APFSDS is unlocked as they excel at causing pressure damage to light targets.

While at tier 4, DTB12-125 is now available at its disposal; unlike his Russian or NATO counterparts, this is currently the only HE-VT (while M830A1 on M1A1 HC and beyond is designated HEAT-MP) shell for MBT in game. This shell turns ZTZ99A into a 125 mm anti-aircraft gun thanks to its generous explosive fillers, any aircrafts that are within its 7 m trigger radius will not have a good day; do note that this also hinders this shell's capability on hitting well-protected ground targets.

APFSDS

The 125-I APFSDS round is a Tier 1 modification. Though it first appeared on the ZTZ96, it is still a decent option for the ZTZ99s and eases the stock grind considerably. It has very similar flat penetration and superior angled penetration to the 3BM42 "Mango" round used by Soviet tanks and can penetrate most contemporary opponents through at least the lower front plate and gun breech.

Waiting at Tier 4 is the DTC10-125 APFSDS round. It has a slightly worse performance to 3BM60 on T-80BVM, but with high mass and high velocity. This will be one of the go-to round for ZTZ99A and most targets at its tier is unlikely to withstand a penetrated shot from this shell.

ATGM

ZTZ99A has access to GP125 ATGM; performing identically to his Soviet counterpart. If sometimes players find their darts are not effective against well-armored targets, the sufficient velocity and penetration can ruin the day of such vehicles while sometimes helicopters if they didn't evade the incoming missile.

Ammo racks

Full ammo	Ammo part	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	7th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
39	ProjectilesPropellants	37 (+2) 39 (+0)	34 (+5) 38 (+1)	31 (+8) 37 (+2)	27 (+12) 28 (+11)	23 (+16) 26 (+13)	N/A 23 (+16)	1 (+38) 1 (+38)	No

Like his predecessors, to ensure the best survivability, only bring 23 shells at your disposal (22 in autoloader and 1 preloaded shell); any more shells will have to moved into the autoloader before being able to fire and significantly increase the risk of ammunition cook-off in case for any penetrated shots.

Machine guns

12.7 mm QJC88A machine gun

Ammunition600 rounds

Belt capacity150 rounds

Reload5.0 s

Fire rate600 shots/min

Vertical guidance-6° / 85°

5.8 mm QJT machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition2 600 rounds

Belt capacity200 rounds

Reload8.0 s

Fire rate801 shots/min

The turret-mounted 12.7 mm QJC88A HMG has already become the standard HMG for most PLAGF vehicles after the 1990s and this assault gun was no exception. The main usage of the HMG is to deal with lightly protected vehicles and low-flying aircraft including helicopters. It can also effectively damage gun barrels, tracks, optics, MG, and ERA to assist teammates in destroying enemies, though this may require a lot of fire. Players who dealt with the paltry 50-round belt capacity of the 12.7 mm DShK machine guns of previous PLA vehicles will be happy to know that the QJC88A has a much more generous 150-round belt capacity.

However, instead of a traditional 7.62 mm Type 86 coaxial machine gun found on previous tanks, ZTZ99A opted for 5.8 mm QJT machine gun instead. Although it's a smaller calibre at 5.8x42 mm, it still retains the same penetration from previous 7.62 mm machine gun. It only works well against any exposed crew of enemy vehicles and it might sometimes earn surprise kills on helicopters

12.7 mm QJC88A
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Pintle	500 (150)	700	-5°/+60°	±180°

5.8 mm QJT
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	2500 (200)	801	N/A	N/A

Usage in battles

As the spearhead of the current PLAGF armored corps, thanks to its vastly improved mobility to his predecessors and new technologies intergraded onto ZTZ99A, it has a better handling than the predecessors and comparable to NATO vehicles in terms of its thrust-weight ratio and top speed (among the top 3 and in fact the fastest MBT in game). The newly designed tank also has very similar protection to his predecessors while parts of its turrets are replaced by brand new FY-5 ERA blocks and the top is covered by FY-1DA ERA blocks, improving its survivability in case for a top-down attack. But a bad news is that its mantle is still lightly protected compare to other MBTs at its tier, a penetrated shot is now even more likely to cause a breech knockout or even lethal damages to the gun crews. In terms of the hull, although it was remarked to have the protection of a ZTZ99 and moved the driver to the left side (from the chassis), the age-old problem of a huge LPF and less protected area over the driver can certainly ruin players' day at top tier. So it is better to keep ZTZ99A away from heated battlefield or in case of a quick assault, make sure to cover the LFP and mantle as much as possible; in case of complicated terrains, either avoid them or in case of the installation of a dozer blade, you can quickly dig a cover for you in case for any possible assaults.

In the firepower department, ZTZ99A also comes with varieties of shells; the darts, although being complained for having a below average penetration, but the overall performance is still sufficient enough to knock-down most western vehicles aside from Strv 122; when facing Russians though, in case players are unconfident to the darts, GP125 ATGM now comes at their disposal as an alternative to melt through Russian MBTs. While both HE shells seemed similar, but the stock DTB-125 is still among the most hard-hitting HE shell at top tier while the new DTB12-125 is VT shells, meaning that any aircrafts that comes close to its 7 m triggering range will have a very bad day thanks to its explosive content. So bring varieties of shells is viable to make ZTZ99A more versatile or sometimes have the last-ditch capability to delivery a strike back.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Great maneuverability
  • The fastest MBT in game at 75 km/h
  • Long-anticipated -34 km/h reverse speed, vastly improving its odds to retreat
  • Dual-flow transmission and shorter chassis enables a tighter turning radius
• Powerful guns with variety of shells ranging from darts up to ATGM
• Very similar sturdy protection to its predecessors
• Faster horizontal traverse speed for the gun

Cons:

• Still suffers from a huge LFP and insufficient protection at mantle
• Has the infamous "NATO hump" that hinders firing arc at rear angles
• Insufficient vertical traverse speed in case of a sudden strike
• Huge profile compare to previous PLAGF tanks
• DTC10-125 has a embarrassing penetration for a top tier shell to ensure a kill

History

As the previous WZ123/ZTZ99 program has been certified, the Central Military Commission only deemed ZTZ99s as the placeholder before their ultimate aim- a 3rd generation MBT was achieved. Soon after the first batches of ZTZ99-III rolled off the production line, the new designer, Mao Ming (毛明) of Institute 201 took over from his mentor Zhu Yusheng (祝榆生) and started on his new design of MBT- WZ1001.

The earliest known prototypes consisted of 3 WZ1001s which has different designs: the very first one was based on a ZTZ99, installed a brand new turret and rework on the rear side of the chassis to fit the new power pack; the second one that looks similar to what the certified WZ1001 would be while the third one installed an experimental 125 mm L/54 gun based on the former. These prototypes were first spotted in 2006 and their efforts for a new tank was then certified in 2010, thus named ZTZ10 then ZTZ99A due to untold reasons.

The earliest batches of the pre-production run ZTZ99As were spotted in early 2010s with an experimental millimeter wave IFF radar, known simply as New MBT (新型主战坦克) or by its erroneous name ZTZ99A2 (or 99大改) to observers. The debate of the name settled down when it was first shown during the 70th V-J Day Parade in Beijing as the TJ1XX column during the parade; as later batches started to manufacture in 2016, those in 90th PLA Day Parade at Zhurihe Base (朱日和基地; a Fort Owen-like exercise ground for PLA troops) and during the 70th National Day Parade has slightly different design with the removal of the aforementioned MMW radar.

Devblog

The ZTZ99A is a further development of the ZTZ99 MBT, already familiar to seasoned War Thunder tankers and fans of Chinese ground vehicles in the game. However, despite sharing a common chassis, the ZTZ99A can be considered a completely new vehicle thanks to a near complete overhaul of its design, particularly concerning its turret. Unlike previous variants, the ZTZ99A features a new arrow-shaped turret, fitted with state-of-the-art ERA and composite armor, capable of defeating even tandem charge chemical rounds.

While the protection upgrade did result in the vehicle gaining roughly 4 tons in weight over its immediate predecessor, this drawback is amply compensated by the ZTZ99A receiving a new 1,500 horsepower diesel engine. As a result, the vehicle’s power-to-weight ratio increases to an impressive 27.7 hp/t despite the weight increase! As a result, the ZTZ99A actually outmatches its predecessors in terms of mobility, being able to attain a top speed of 75 km/h on paved roads. Furthermore, a new transmission eliminates the poor reverse speed of the older modifications with the ZTZ99A now being capable of reaching up to 34 km/h while going in reverse. Quite a handy upgrade for intense gun fights, eh?

Unlike its protection and mobility, the ZTZ99A’s firepower however remains virtually unchanged from previous versions. The vehicle still features the familiar ZPT-98 125 mm smoothbore cannon as well as a coaxial 7.62 mm machine gun and a top-mounted high-caliber commander’s machine gun. Therefore, the ZTZ99A inherits its predecessors’ excellent firepower and combines it with its own upgrades to result in a potent new fighting vehicle, worthy of the top spot in the Chinese ground forces tree.

Media

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

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the vehicles;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

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• 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

Norinco (China North Industries Corporation)
Light AFV/IFV
WZ501	ZBD86¹
WZ131	▂Type 62 · Type 62
WZ211	Type 63 · ZTS63
WZ502	ZBD04A
MBT
WZ120	Type 59¹ · ZTZ59A · ZTZ59D1
WZ121	Type 69
WZ122	ZTZ88B · ZTZ88A · ZTZ96 · ZTZ96A · ZTZ96A (P)
WZ123	ZTZ99-II · ZTZ99-III
WZ1001	WZ1001(E) LCT · ZTZ99A
Tank Destroyers	AFT09 · PTL02 · PTZ89 · ZLT11
SPH	PLZ83
SPAA	ZSD63/PG87² · PGZ09 · PGZ04A
Export
WZ121	Type 69-IIa · T-69 II G
MBT2000	MBT-2000 · Al-Khalid-I
MBT3000	VT4A1
Other	WMA301 · WZ305
	¹ License production / Reverse engineered · ² Field modifications