Notes: The Pakistanis have long been users of the Chinese Type 59 tank; they also knew for quite a while that their Type 59s were not only obsolete, they were not keeping up with Indian tanks; there were, however, too many of them to simply scrap them. In 1990, the Pakistanis got together with a few foreign armament firms to upgrade their Type 59s to be able to be able to face more modern designs and at least have a chance to come out on the winning end of a fight. It would essentially give the Pakistanis a modern tank at a fraction of the cost (though the upgrade program ended up costing more real-life money than the Pakistanis thought it would). The development program started in 1990, but the sheer number of modifications (54 of them), coupled with a few budgetary problems and false starts at acquiring outright replacements for the Type 59 meant that the first upgraded Type 59, called the Al-Zarrar (Striker) was not fielded until early 2004. Some 800 of Pakistan’s Type 59s have been updated to the Al-Zarrar standard, and the Pakistanis also sell the Al-Zarrar upgrade as a kit for countries using the Type 59, T-54, or T-55. In addition to Pakistan, the Bangladeshis use the Al-Zarrar, having begun the upgrade of their Type 59s in 2008.

Virtually every area of the Type 59 is upgraded, enough so that the Al-Zarrar is essentially a new tank in an old tank’s skin. Improvements have been made to the key areas of protection, firepower, fire control, suspension, and mobility. One of the biggest upgrades is the main gun; the 100mm D-10T of the Type 59 has been replaced by a Pakistani version of the 2A46 and its autoloader. Most of the ammunition used in this gun is Pakistani-designed, but mirrors the ammunition used by the 2A46. The main gun is coupled with a modern fire control system built in Pakistan with the assistance of Krauss-Maffei of Germany. The main gun is now fully stabilized, with thermal imaging for the gunner that is accessible to the commander. The main gun also has a laser rangefinder, a ballistic computer, and a monitor to help the gunner search for targets and give him information about targets and the state of the main gun and its ranging components. The gunner’s hatch has vision blocks around it that give 180-degree vision (front, rear, and right side). The commander has, in addition to thermal imager access, his own IR vision and an image intensifier. The driver, on the front right side, has vision blocks that allow frontal vision and vision to both sides; one of these vision blocks can be removed and replaced by an IR vision block. The commander has an NSVT machinegun mounted on his cupola; this machinegun can be aimed and fired from under armor.

The Al-Zarrar uses a Pakistani-built version of a Chinese engine, a diesel engine giving 730 horsepower and also having a smaller size than the Type 59s engine. The transmission was also upgraded for the new engine and is semi-automatic. The suspension is improved with wider tracks, improved roadwheels and drive sprockets, and better shock absorption through a modified torsion bar system. Though the Al-Zarrar retains the ability to mount reserve tanks at the rear, in practice they are considered a combat hazard and are normally either not carried or jettisoned before battle.

The Al-Zarrar was originally to use a large amount of appliqué armor, but this was replaced in development with a modular armor suite, including composite armor on the glacis and turret front and spaced armor on the hull and turret sides. The floor armor has been dramatically increased as well. Lugs for ERA are found on the glacis, hull sides, turret front, turret sides, and the forward part of the turret roof. A Pakistani-designed laser threat warning system is also fitted; this lets the crew know if they are being targeted by laser designators and automatically fires smoke grenades to block the laser designation beam; 5 smoke grenade launchers are found on each side of the turret. Both the ammo bins and the crew compartments have automatic explosion and fire suppression systems.

Twilight 2000 Notes: In the Twilight 2000 timeline, development was greatly accelerated, and the first Al-Zarrars were available in late 1997 and first used in combat with Indian forces in early 1998.

*Floor armor for the Al-Zarrar is AV 8.

Notes: HIT (Heavy Industries Taxila) is the primary agency in Pakistan for the building, modification, and upgrading heavy military vehicles. One of their first tank projects, begun in 1979, was to being the Type 59 first to a like-new configuration, then to upgrade it. Most of this program resulted in the Type 59s being upgraded to the Al-Zarrar; the remainder were upgraded to a configuration called the Type 59MII.

The Type 59MII is based on the Chinese Type 59-II modification, but is not quite the same. For example, the Type 59MII has a more comprehensive night vision suite, and does not normally mount the searchlight of the Chinese tank. Fire control is a bit better, including a laser rangefinder and a ballistic computer. The commander has access to the gunner’s sights and has override controls for the main gun. Overall armor is a bit heavier and more advanced than a Type 59-II; the Type 59MII has side skirts, and there are lugs for ERA on the turret front, turret sides, hull front, and hull sides, as well as the forward third of the turret roof. Floor armor is also increased. The engine is the same as the Type 59-II, as is the coaxial machinegun, but the commander’s machinegun is an NSVT that can be aimed and fired from under armor. The Type 59IIM has an automatic fire and explosion suppression system, and the transmission is semi-automatic. The Type 59 also has an APU for silent watch. Four smoke grenade launchers are mounted on each side of the turret.

*Floor armor for the Type 59MII is AV 6.