Malaysian T-72 MBT?

last SG · 2006-05-26T21:42:10+00:00

I realise that the Malaysian Defence company DEFTECH is a technology partner with UKRSPETS export which is an Ukranian state company for export and import of...

tankee1981 SG

I have heard that Malaysian Army operate T-72 during my NSF days, which is way before the announcement of the PT-91M Twardy MBTs from Poland. Can anyone confirm this? Any info online? Maybe they also have 'secret' MBT to counter our then alleged Centurions. Very Happy

Texcoco II SG

Yeah haha…it have been posted here before with those pictures….If im not wrong, malaysia army purchased 24(?) of those tanks from Poland

coolant SG

Heard from whom?

If heard some voice in the woods, then forget it
If heard from your Sir in your days, then ignore it.
If heard from some nice guys like us in this forum, then do matter it
But any of us said such thing to you?
I couldnt recall.
SoSo do tell us the source.
Wink Laughing

spartan6 SG

T-72 or PT-91 it makes no diff Malaysia has 2 few of them 2 really impact our armour

tankee1981 SG

Originally posted by Texcoco II

Yeah haha...it have been posted here before with those pictures....If im not wrong, malaysia army purchased 24(?) of those tanks from Poland

Its 48 not 24 and i am referring to T-72 NOT the PT-91M as posted in militarynuts before. Thanks Very Happy

Texcoco II SG

IT's a old news ......i read it before from Strait times all the way back in 2003, it was reported that Malaysia use palm oil to pay for part of the bill for those tanks, and a polish officer also promised that the malaysians will get those tanks BETTER than the one being commisioned in polish army. I found that statement amusing tat's why i still remember the news Laughing

Shotgun SG

Ha, i think 20 Apache / Longbows are worth 50 MBT’s weight in gold any time.

saline SG

In March 2002, Malaysia declared an intention to purchase 48 modernized PT-91M Twardy's and 14 support vehicles (6x WZT-4 armoured recovery vehicle, 3x MID-M engineering tank and 5x PMC Leguan - armoured vehicle-launched bridge) for $275 million USD. The tank delivery begain in 2005.[/img]

siaokao SG

I believe the above malaysian MBT is driven by polish. Mr. Green

tankee1981 SG

Guys...you are misunderstanding my question. My question is did Malaysia possess T-72 MBT BEFORE the announcement to buy the Twardy PT-91M MBT from Poland. By that i meant before 2003. Thanks. Very Happy

Black Aces SG

Originally posted by saline:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y229/alphabranch/DSC01014.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y229/alphabranch/DSC01012.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y229/alphabranch/DSC01011.jpg

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/europe/images/pt91_wym.jpg

Seen the pictures and 'something' caught my eye (which never occurred to me when I 1st saw the pics some time back), it is the commander's 0.5 HMG.

Notice the height of the gun? or is there some mechanisms to 'elevate' the gun? Seems like that tank commander is literally 'exposing' his upper-half body (or is it just for their NDP only?) to be able to man that gun fully....I thought the protection provided to our SM1 tank commanders (esp manning the gun) is wanting but the PT-91 commander is WORSE! Embarassed

At least the US Army learnt something (I hope!) from their experience in Somalia, but seems like the M'sian learnt nothing from their experience in Somalia (Hey! The m'sians even complained that 'Black Hawk Down' is inaccurate in portraying the M'sian peacekeepers role there).

ditzy SG

Yes, because during atec, the opposing forces were t-72s. Laughing

tankee1981 SG

Taking into considerations that during ATEC the Opforce are T-72, there must be a reason for this.

This is because Opforces are the simulated forces which our SAF are most likely to encounter in combat. Opforces are trained in 'enemy' tactics and uses 'enemy' weapons and equipment. This simulated 'enemy' is a result of a combination of the armed forces in our region, which we are most likely to encounter in times of war.

Therefore there must be a basis for using T-72 as Opforce in ATEC. And the only country in South East Asia with officially acknowledged T-72 MBTs is Vietnam which is quite far from our theatre of operations. So what i am saying is that Malaysia MAY already have T-72 before ordering the PT-91M. Very Happy

Moonstriker SG

When's malaysia's "army open house, airforce open plane, navy open ship" or NDP eh?
Shld pay a visit with very good cameras & video cams.
Take good photos for wallpaper or collections.. Wink

tripwire SG

yup... and we have been operating the strike gundam.. before we got our hands on strike freedom recently. Laughing

equlus84 SG

I thinkthe op-force the equipment they use does not reflect any country. I think bcos it is to prevent an uproar among our neighbours. But it is true to say Singapore or the other Asean nations were worried a military invasion by Vietnam back in the 70s as it was a threat that is all too real back in that era. This brings me to this question, why does our opforce do not use real non SAF gear and weapons. Yes, they should be trained inSAF doctrines but they should also be trained in other weapons to make them look more realistic.

I have read somewhere that China has this division named the blue army. The soldiers in that division is equipped with western weapons, like for example NORINCO version of the M-16. The officiers in the division are also expected to learn at least a few thousand English words, and the entire army fights on Doctrines of either USA, Russia, etc.........
Perhaps our opforce should chiong in other doctrines, the non-saf to provide realism.

Mr. Green Twisted Evil Evil or Very Mad

I wonder does MAF have a opforce and who they model it as?

spartan6 SG

Nope malaysia has been planning 2 buy T-72s for some time liao n seems 2 be commited tat why our trainning is simmed against them, but they suddenly change their mind n get e PT-91 Twardy(Hard)

gary1910 SG

Originally posted by tankee1981:
Guys...you are misunderstanding my question. My question is did Malaysia possess T-72 MBT [b]BEFORE the announcement to buy the Twardy PT-91M MBT from Poland. By that i meant before 2003. Thanks. Very Happy [/b]

First thing first, you guys must know a bit of history, MY was talking abt getting MBT including T-72s since the early 90s, it was widely reported then , and other stuffs like the Rooivalk AHs!!!

So it was not really some secret project that is unheard of, but they never signed anything then and later they were whacked with 97 crisis which put every project on hold till the early of this century.

So it is prudent for SAF to prepare for the eventuality eventhough it was delay due to the crisis.

What do we see happen in SAF for the last few years , you see new Spike ATGM, new Apaches and even new Matador LAW, why?? Twisted Evil

There is no MBTs in our immediate neighbours except MY interest in getting MBTs, the reason was SAF was preparing for future threats, likewise for your training!!!! Cool

BTW , there is no one in SEA has T-72s , not even Vietnam, they have T-55s and some small amount of T-62s but you know what, our 75mm APFSDS rds could penetrate these older Russian tanks, that is why SAF developed it!!!!

Lastly, we must look at those "MY Boleh!!!" of our northern friend, they actually shipped one PT-91M over that are not even ready for delivery, driven undercover secretly by Polish Engr so to show off in their last NDP!!!!
Laughing

If they really have T-72s way as you said, they would have show them off long time ago just to show "MY Boleh!!!"

tankee1981 SG

Originally posted by gary1910

First thing first, you guys must know a bit of history, MY was talking abt getting MBT including T-72s since the early 90s, it was widely reported then , and other stuffs like the Rooivalk AHs!!!

Now this finally made some sense.

I was about to give credit to the SID for their excellent work in detecting the purchase of MBTs long before they are being ordered. Reason being none of our countries in ASEAN operate tanks in sufficient numbers and quality except in Thailand and Vietnam. We have close military ties with Thailand and they are quite a distance away. Vietnam is also far away and lack force projection capabilities. So these two countries are no threat to Singapore.Therefore the only logical explanation which i can find for the purchase of Spike missiles, Longbow Apaches,Matador and replacement of SM1 in the last few years, is that Malaysia already have MBTs.

But gary's explanation proves that we may just be simply preparing for the future. They also announced plans to buy submarines for a long time, almost 10 years ago but till now none is delivered yet. Very Happy

tankee1981 SG

Originally posted by Black Aces

Notice the height of the gun? or is there some mechanisms to 'elevate' the gun? Seems like that tank commander is literally 'exposing' his upper-half body (or is it just for their NDP only?) to be able to man that gun fully....I thought the protection provided to our SM1 tank commanders (esp manning the gun) is wanting but the PT-91 commander is WORSE

You have made a very good point here. Our SM1 tank commanders are taught to view through gap between the 7.62 ammo box and the commanders hatch to guide the vehicle while on the move in combat situations. He is also to hold onto the handle of the coaxial MG to stabilise both himself and the MG. The aim is to enable the commander to guide the vehicle and observe the surroundings while keeping a very small portion of his body exposed.

From the Malaysian NDP pic i noticed that such a stance is impossible. The structure supporting the 0.5 HMG is too high and the only way for it to be fired is to stand at upright as shown in the pic. This is of course assuming that the supporting structure of the HMG cannot be adjusted. Very Happy