【Military Subplane】Author: Lu Zhi
For many residents, being able to buy a real military vehicle is definitely a satisfying thing. Recently, there is a news that foreign military fans like to see, that is, you can buy a genuine M60 tank for the price of a luxury SUV, is it very surprising!
▲ Image source: Internet
The origin of the matter is that the Spanish Ministry of Defense will auction a batch of M60 main battle tanks belonging to the Spanish Navy in the near future, but the exact number of sales has not been announced. These M60 tanks will all be retired in 2022, although they still have a certain combat value, but the overall performance is no longer comparable with today's advanced main battle tanks, so there is the idea of selling them to make money.
▲ Image source: Internet
Spain's current main battle tanks are the more advanced Leopard 2 series, including 219 Leopard 2E, which is an improved version of the Leopard 2A6, in addition to 108 backward Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks, which are generally quite luxurious. The specific models of these M60 tanks to be sold this time are M60A3TTS, and the biggest change is that they are equipped with the AN/VSG-2 thermal imaging sighting system, which is the most advanced model among all M60 tanks. But even so, the foundation of the M60 family is too poor, and compared with the improved T72 tank, M60A3TTS is still at a disadvantage. The latter has stronger firepower, stronger maneuverability, better protection ability, and the design concept is obviously an era advanced.
For example, there is still room for upgrading and improvement in the T72, but the M60 has already bottomed out, so there is no obvious problem in Spain retiring these tanks. According to foreign media reports, Spain received about 300 M60 tanks between 1992 and 1993, although there are other models of M60, but the most are M60A3TTS, which can be regarded as Spain's hero tank.
▲ Image source: Internet
The current official price in Spain is about $50,000, for example, the starting price of the BMW X5 in the United States is about $60,000, which means that the tank is cheaper than the BMW X5. In China, the starting price of the BMW X5 is about 600,000 yuan, and the domestic models of the same type are basically around 300,000 yuan. Therefore, in terms of actual comparison, these M60 tanks sold at about 50,000 US dollars are roughly equivalent to more than 300,000 domestic luxury models or relatively high-end SUV models, which are basically equivalent to domestic tank 500 models, does it sound very cost-effective?
▲ Image source: Internet
In fact, many retired weapons in foreign countries can basically be sold to the civilian sector after dismantling key equipment, the most typical example is a variety of military off-road vehicles and trucks, such as the military Humvee in the United States. Schwarzenegger, the famous American hardcore action superstar, has an M1 tank in addition to a civilian version of the Hummer H47. The army can not only satisfy the enthusiasm of military fans, but also obtain a part of the funds for blood recovery, which is generally beneficial to both sides. Therefore, a large number of weapon clubs and even folk museums have been born in many countries, and the military culture is very strong. If similar restrictions are lifted in China one day, not to mention the retired 59 tanks, as long as the Warrior series that everyone likes very much can be sold at a lower price, even if it can't be on the road, I'm afraid there are many military fans who are willing to pay this money, the author is one of them, how to say that it is also a genuine national defense education, what do you think?
▲ Image source: Internet
▲ Image source: Internet