The Nigerian Army (NA) has taken delivery of VT-4 main battle tanks, ST-1 tank destroyer and SH-2 truck-mounted howitzers purchased by the Nigerian federal governmen to boost its fight against Boko Haram Terrorists (BHTs) and other criminal elements across the country. The armaments which were built to specification, were ordered from China after that country’s state-owned China Ordnance Industries Group Corporation Limited (Norinco) won the Nigerian federal government’s bid for the acquisition of military hardwares last year.
The VT4 also named MBT-3000 for the export version is a new generation of main battle tank designed and manufactured by the Chinese Defense Company Norinco. The main armament of the VT4 consists of 125mm smoothbore gun fitted with a thermal sleeve and fume extractor. It is fed by an automatic loader which holds a total of 22 projectiles and charges which can be loaded at the rate of eight per minute. To increase the body side protection, the MBT-3000 can be fitted with explosive reactive armour (ERA).
The ST1 is a tank destroyer 8×8 armoured vehicle designed and manufactured by the Chinese Defense Company Norinco. Main armament of the ST1 105mm tank destroyer consists of one NATO standard 105mm rifled gun that fires a full range of ammunition as APFSDS (Armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding-sabot), HE (High-explosive), HEAT (High Explosive Anti-Tank), APAM (Anti-Personnel/Anti-Materiel) and gun-launched ATGM (Anti-Tank Guided Missile). The hull and turret are of all-welded steel armour construction, which provides the crew with protection from small arms fire and shell splinters.
The SH-5 is a further development of the SH2 which is armed with a 105 mm/37-calibre ordnance howitzer designed and manufactured by the Chinese Defense Company Norinco. The SH5 is based on a 6 × 6 cross-country chassis that is a new design that is also used for the SH2 122 mm (6 × 6) self-propelled artillery system. . The 105 mm gun is mounted on a turntable fitted to a flatbed just behind the crew compartment. The SH-2 was mainly aimed at the export market. The SH5 has a maximum range of 18 km.
