PAKISTAN has achieved yet another milestone in the defence production after it added Al-Khalid Tank-1 into its arsenal which is considered as main armoured combat vehicle and termed as King of Battlefield by the military experts. The tank built under joint venture with China and Ukraine was handed over to Armoured Corps Regiment at a ceremony at Heavy Industry Taxila on Tuesday which was also attended by Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa. During the ceremony Tank Al-Khalid-I displayed some of its outstanding capabilities including mobility, speed, Bi-axis gun stabilization of the control system and use of smoke screen to mask movement.
Al-Khalid tank-I is a great example of Pakistan’s self-reliance and testifies the strength and strong bonds of Pak-China friendship. It is equipped with advanced technology like Driver Digital Panel and Thermal Imaging. In addition to this, it has the ability to effectively defend itself against nuclear, biological and chemical attacks. The development of the tank has once again manifested the skills and expertise of our technical staff including scientists and engineers. It is because of their sheer dedication and work that the country’s defence production industry is making headway and achieving new milestones one after another with the cooperation of friendly countries such as China and Turkey. It is a matter of satisfaction the country is also developing an advanced version of Al Khalid Tank-2 with Turkish defence electronics giant Aselsan offering its next generation electronics comprising fire control system, electro optical sensor and communication system for the tank. This process of improvement and upgradation of our equipment must continue keeping in view the advancement at the world level to force the enemy bite dust in the battle ground. Since Pakistan is now producing high tech and state of the equipment including JF-17, our effort should also be focused on exporting these products to earn valuable foreign exchange which in fact will further strengthen our capacity to build the defence production industry on modern lines and achieve complete self reliance. In this pursuit, the private sector can also be taken on board after mutual consultations.
