Haider Main Battle Tank

The Haider MBT (Urdu:حیدر; Trans. Lion Heart), is a modernized variant of the VT-4 main battle tank of Norinco. It is locally manufactured by Heavy Industries Taxila of Pakistan for the Pakistan Army. Its existence was revealed in UAE's IDEX in 2023, which was displayed on the Pavilion of Pakistan. It is named after the Islamic Caliph, Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib.

Design
The design of Haider MBT is conventional with the driver seated at the front center of the hull, the turret in the middle and the engine in rear. The tank has a crew of three: driver, commander and gunner.

Armament
The main armament of the tank is a 125 mm smoothbore gun that can fire a variety of ammunition (which includes Armored Piercing Fin-Stabilized Discarding sabot, High explosive, High Explosive anti-Tank along with Anti-Tank Guided Missiles).

The secondary armament consists of one 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun and a remotely operated weapon system (ROWS) mounted at the rear of the commander hatch that is armed with a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun.

Armor
The armor on the turret and the hull is an amalgam of composite, reactive and spaced armor.

Composite armor is made up of layers of ceramics, metals and polymers that help to resist the penetration by external threats. They are lighter in weight and are effective. The ceramic materials absorbs projectile penetration by fragmentation, diminishing the penetration.

Reactive armor uses the charges from explosives to deflect the incoming projectiles. ERA's are mounted on most vulnerable points on the tank such as the hull and the entire turret.

Spaced armor is made of two layers of armor with a gap in between slowing the impulse of the incoming projectiles and increasing the collision time.

Suspension
The Haider tank's torsion suspension system has six road wheels on each side with the first and former wheels mounted on hydraulic shock absorbers.

The tank is powered by a four-stroke turbocharged electronically controlled 1200 HP diesel engine. It has a hydro-mechanical automatic transmission. It can attain a maximum speed of 70 km/h (with maximum cruising range of 500 km).

Fire control system
The Haider MBT is equipped with an advanced fire control system that contains a variety of sensors and targeting device to enhance the tank's accuracy and lethality. This system is designed to help the tank's crew have a clear view of the battlefield and to identify and engage threats effectively.

The main gun of the tank is equipped with thermal imaging sight (To detect heat signatures and to visualize heat patterns even in low-light environments), laser rangefinder (assists the gunner in determining the precise distance to a target) and a panoramic commander's sight (360 view of the battle field).

The fire control system also includes a ballistic computer which calculates the firing solution for the main gun based on the target's distance, angle and various other parameters. This assists the crew to ensure that the tank's rounds hit their target accurately and with maximum effect.

With addition to these features, the lethality of the tank is further increased by the addition of a sophisticated ballistic computer that with pinpoint accuracy, calculates the firing solution for the main gun. This feature promises accuracy with precision.

Unveiling ceremony
The Haider Main Battle Tank was unveiled on 6 March 2024 at Heavy Industries Taxila. Senior officials including Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir participated in the ceremony.

Production
Pakistan has purchased 679 VT-4 tanks for local assembly as the Haider.