In the 1970s and 1980s, during the honeymoon period between China and the United States, While introducing advanced Western equipment, China also absorbed a lot of Western technology and research and development concepts, and also jointly developed a variety of weapons and equipment with the United States, the most little known of which is the famous "Jaguar" main battle tank.
In early 1985, China's Machinery and Equipment Import and Export Corporation established a partnership with cadillac Gage Marsh in the United States, planning to develop a new main battle tank for foreign trade exports, code-named "Jaguar".
At that time, the Chinese side was responsible for the development of the chassis part, and the United States was responsible for the development of the turret, engine and armor.
Each side supplies about forty percent of the parts, with the remaining twenty percent going to International.
The "Jaguar" main battle tank part follows the structure of the domestic Type 59 medium tank, with the same torsion bar suspension system, and also uses five pairs of load wheels, the active wheel is set in the back, and the induction wheel is set in the front, but compared to the Type 59 tank, the "Jaguar" tank suspension system has two more pairs of tow wheels.
Although the "Jaguar" tank adopts the suspension and track system of the Type 59 tank, it is very different in appearance, appearing square, has a strong Western style, and the body line is also very flat, which is much better than the Type 59 in appearance.
In terms of power, it uses the 8V-92TA type 8-cylinder diesel engine in Detroit, USA, with a rated power of 560 kilowatts, a maximum travel speed of 55 kilometers per hour, an off-road speed of 32 kilometers per hour, a climb of 60 degrees, and a wading depth of 1.1 meters.
In terms of transmission, the Allison XTG-411 fully automatic transmission of General Motors Company of the United States is adopted, and the hydraulic transmission is also adopted, which is divided into four forward gears and two reverse gears.
However, after testing, the suspension system was not qualified, and the engine, although the top speed exceeded the Type 59 tank, it still did not meet the design requirements, and these were later re-improved by Cadillac, replacing the hydraulic suspension system and high-power diesel engine.
The armor part of the tank can be modularly customized, according to the different needs of the equipper, it can be attached to the reactive armor, or additional armor, and the tank itself adopts gap composite armor.
In terms of weapons of the Jaguar main battle tank, the main weapon is an L7 series 105 mm rifled tank gun produced by the Royal Arsenal of The British Army, with a pitch angle of -4 degrees to +17 degrees, a reserve capacity of 34 rounds, which can fire NATO-style 105 mm shells, and can also fire the latest tail stabilized shelling armor-piercing shells at that time.
However, the artillery is not specific, according to different needs, equipped with other types of main guns, you can choose the American M68 type rifled gun, the Imperial L7 series rifled gun, or the medium-made 105 mm rifled gun.
The auxiliary armament is a 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun, arranged on the side of the barrel, with a reserve capacity of 3500 rounds, and an M2HB type 12.7 mm heavy machine gun on the top of the turret, which can be used for anti-aircraft or flat fire, with a reserve capacity of 600 rounds, and a set of 4-pack smoke screen launchers are also installed on each side of the turret.
The battle compartment was equipped with the most advanced fire control system and sighting system at that time, the accuracy of the shooting was very high, and the modified smoking system was also installed in the middle of the barrel, which could better reduce the smoke when firing and enhance the line of sight of the crew.
Although the Jaguar main battle tank was jointly developed by China and the United States, it also inherits the tradition of Russian tanks and adopts a low-slung style design, which can reduce the chance of exposure and enhance the survivability of the vehicle group.
At the same time, the front projection of the car is small, which can also reduce the chance of infrared reconnaissance, so the Jaguar main battle tank also has a certain hidden ability.
The total length of the barrel is 9.6 meters, the net length of the body is 6.8 meters, the width is 3.27 meters, the height is 2.63 meters, the crew is 4 people, and the total weight of the battle is 40 tons.
Between 1988 and 1990, two Jaguar prototypes were built for testing, which were divided into Jaguar I and Jaguar II.
The Type I was shipped to China for further testing at the Army's Wuping Proving Ground in Nevada, and then back to the United States.
The Type II was improved by the Cadillac Company of the United States in the second half of 1989, when in order to speed up the development speed, the prototype of the Type I "Jaguar" tank was dismantled, and some parts were used on the Type II "Jaguar" tank, with the ultimate goal of creating a practical "Jaguar" tank, and can be used until the 21st century.
At that time, through the joint efforts of China and the United States, as well as the support of the United Kingdom in the back, the research and development of the "Jaguar" main battle tank was relatively smooth, and the cost of this tank was low, and the overall structure was not particularly complicated, and the two sides agreed that the cost of a single "Jaguar" tank would not exceed 1 million US dollars, which could achieve mass production.
But by 1991, because of currency changes, a single Jaguar main battle tank could cost more than $1.55 million.
However, the "Jaguar" tank was also in line with the development needs of the year, for some small countries in the Middle East that can afford T-55 or 59 tanks, they can also afford to buy the "Jaguar" tank, so this tank will have a good market position.
But with the change of the situation, the Soviet Union has more retired T-55 tanks, the United States has more retired M60 tanks, and France's AMX-30 tanks, their existence, so that the "Jaguar" tank has not yet landed on the military market, it has become worthless, because these retired tanks are cheaper, more numerous, so naturally no country will choose the higher price of the "Jaguar" tank.
Later, during the 1990s, both China and the United States and the West ended the honeymoon period, which also suspended the research and development plan of the "Jaguar" main battle tank, first, because of the change in the situation, as more and more main battle tanks were retired, it also made the "Jaguar" have no place in the armaments market, and secondly, because the honeymoon period ended, the relationship became tense and sensitive, and began to blockade technology.
Later, the remaining Type II Jaguar main battle tanks remained in the United States, and after improvements by Cadillac, the length and width of the hull were increased, and armor was added to the turret and chassis, and the engine was improved, which was more Westernized than the previous prototype.
But unfortunately, the Jaguar main battle tank is still only a prototype, never boarded the ranks of the world's tanks, after more than 30 years, it has now become a pile of rusty scrap iron, it will forever be refrigerated in the memorial.
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