The Bangladesh Army has acquired a brand new batch of Chinese language Kind 15 light-weight battle tanks, in any other case often called the VT-5, that are anticipated to equip a second phase, after one regiment outfitted with 44 of the tanks accomplished its rearmament in 2025. The automobiles are amongst a variety of kit that has lately been procured from China, with the acquisition of SY-400 tactical ballistic missiles having been authorized in November, whereas orders for J-10C and JF-17 Block III fighters are each reportedly into consideration. It has been extensively speculated that following the toppling of the Bangladeshi authorities in July 2025 by mass pupil riots, the approaching to energy of a authorities intently aligned with the USA and broader Western Bloc would end in a reorientation of defence procurements away from China and in direction of the Western world, elevating questions relating to the way forward for the Sino-Bangladeshi defence partnership.
The Kind 15 is roughly 40 p.c lighter than China’s heavyweight Kind 99 important battle tank, and accommodates a considerably smaller 105mm important gun. The tank depends on specialised munition sorts comparable to laser guided anti tank missiles and kinetic vitality penetrators to threaten fashionable armour and compensate for the dimensions of its armament, with Bangladeshi sources reporting that its superior penetrative rounds can frontally penetrate the armour of a lot bigger tank sorts such because the Russian T-90. The Kind 15 is prized for its capacity to function successfully in mountainous areas, comparable to in western China the place it gives a very essential benefit over neighbouring India which lacks any comparable mountain-friendly tanks. The tank has a very superior hydro-pneumatic suspension system which dynamically adjusts floor clearance to maximise manoeuvrability and fight efficacy in tough terrain.
A subsequent era light-weight battle tank which seems to have been developed as a direct successor to the Kind 15 was first seen in June 2024, and was confirmed to have already reached a prototype and trial stage. It’s anticipated to introduce a variety of revolutionary new options by no means earlier than seen on operational armoured automobiles, together with discount of crew necessities to simply two personnel via very excessive ranges of automation. Synthetic intelligence is predicted to play a significant function in lowering crew necessities, which in flip can facilitate a extra compact design and larger ranges of armour safety on the car relative to its weight. China’s tank business has more and more extensively been assessed to be the world chief within the efficiency of its merchandise, with a significant turning level being the disclosing of the Kind 100 important battle tank, which was confirmed in September 2025 to have entered service as the primary on this planet of a brand new era. The brand new light-weight tank is predicted to have most of the identical options because the Kind 100, together with a facet by facet crew seating association within the centre of the car for a extra environment friendly design with larger crew survivability.
In August 2025 the VT-4 important battle tank appeared for the primary time appeared in Bangladesh Army camouflage, fuelling hypothesis {that a} contract for the sale of the automobiles had already been signed. The tank was a modernised variant integrating the brand new GL-5 hard-kill lively safety system, which has not been procured by different shoppers. Developed in parallel to the Kind 15 as a heavier counterpart, the VT-4 is produced solely for export, and has been acquired in important numbers by Pakistan and Thailand whereas additionally being evaluated by Algeria. The Kind 15 and VT-4 are between them anticipated to switch the over 100 Bangladesh Army Kind 59 tanks, which have been produced in China in the course of the Chilly Struggle as enhanced derivatives of the Soviet T-55 design.
