RAWALPINDI – Pakistan Army’s upgraded version of indigenously developed Al Khalid-I main battle tank successfully demonstrated deep water fording capabilities.
It is for the first time that Al Khalid-1, which is called “king of battlefield” by military experts, displayed deep fording skills.
In July 2020, Pakistan Army inducted Al Khalid-I tank adding speed and firepower to its Armoured Corps Regiment.
Pakistan’s Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, senior military officials as well as a few diplomats had attended the handing over ceremony held at Heavy Industries Taxila (HIT) – state-owned defence industry.
The upgraded version of Pakistan-built Al Khalid-I main battle tank demonstrates deep water fording capabilities pic.twitter.com/hJBo1VWZyR
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The tanks exhibited some “outstanding capabilities” including mobility, speed, bi-axis gun stabilisation of the control system and use of smoke screen to mask movement, says the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement. “Al Khalid-I will be handed over to formations, which have a critical and decisive role during war.”
The Al Khalid main battle tank (MBT), named after the 7th-century Muslim commander Khalid bin al-Walid, is the mainstay of Pakistan Army. Al Khalid, also known as MBT-2000, was jointly developed by Pakistan and China in 1990. It first entered service with the Pakistani Army in 2001. There are an estimated 600 vehicles in service.
Read more: https://pakobserver.net/induction-of-al-khalid-1/
