Recently, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute pointed out that due to the impact of the new coronary pneumonia epidemic, world military expenditures from 2020 to 2021 may decline. According to predictions, the international arms sales market will also "cool down", and US military manufacturers that have long occupied most of the market share may be hit hard.

  During the epidemic, my country recently delivered VT-4 main battle tanks to many countries and won praise from Nigeria and Pakistan. Experts believe that with high cost performance, technology in place and a full set of services, my country's military industrial enterprises will have better development in the future.

  ●Lingxi, a reporter from Nanfang Daily in Beijing

The global arms sales market "cools down" many countries or cut military spending

  According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the global recession caused by the global epidemic of the new coronary pneumonia will change the current situation in the international arms market. Previously, in 2019, the global total of foreign arms sales reached as high as 55 billion US dollars, and global arms expenditure reached 1.9 trillion US dollars, a record high.

  According to statistics, US military manufacturers have long occupied the majority of the international military sales market. From 2015 to 2019, the United States accounted for 36% of global arms exports. According to the website of the US National Defense Monthly, affected by the new coronary pneumonia epidemic, the two most important export destinations for US arms sales: the Middle East and Europe have been hit hard by the epidemic.

  The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute pointed out that after the global economic crisis in 2008, many European countries have cut military spending. This global economic recession may have a similar impact. According to foreign media predictions, US allies may give priority to mitigating the epidemic and restoring the economy, which will bring lasting short-term and medium-term risks to future arms sales.

  Although the global arms sales market has "cooled down", some countries that buy Chinese military industrial enterprises are still "passionate". On April 7th, the first batch of 17 vehicles, including VT-4 main battle tanks, ST-1 wheeled assault guns and two assault artillery pieces, that Nigeria urgently ordered from my country arrived in Apapa Port. On April 20, according to Pakistani media reports, 2 of the 300 VT-4 tanks ordered by the Pakistan Army were delivered on the same day.

  It is understood that since the debut of my country's new generation of foreign trade main battle tank VT-4 in 2012, it has sold Thailand, Nigeria, Pakistan and other countries, and has won wide acclaim. Nigerian media "Wednesday" reported that Nigeria has become the first country in the region with advanced tanks. These tanks have become a powerful guarantee for the country's fight against the terrorist organization "Boko Haram".

  At the military parade of the Royal Thai Army on January 18, the VT-4 main battle tank, SR4 rocket artillery, and DTI-1 long-range rocket made in China were unveiled on the same stage as the weapons and equipment made in the United States, Ukraine, and France. It is understood that Thailand has successively signed three batches of VT-4 main battle tank orders since 2016. At the Thailand International Defence Exhibition held in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand in November 2019, Thai Deputy Prime Minister Barvey spoke highly of Chinese weapons and equipment such as VT-4 main battle tanks.

  In 2020, Thailand’s defense budget expenditure is 7.6 billion US dollars, and defense expenditure is in a leading position in Southeast Asia. After the Second World War, the Thai Army, Navy and Air Force received and purchased a large amount of American weapons and equipment. However, since the 21st century, the United States has cancelled several military cooperation and assistance programs with Thailand on several occasions. In recent years, China-Thailand military cooperation has been close. According to the Russian Satellite News Agency, China became Thailand's largest weapon supplier in 2017.

  Military expert Li Jie introduced that Thailand has achieved a political balance among major powers by purchasing weapons from Western countries, while weapons and equipment are in a state of "made by all nations." The military expenditures of some countries represented by Thailand are carefully calculated, not only to meet the possible combat needs, but also to maintain the domestic situation. Against this background, some countries have been more willing to accept more cost-effective orders for weapons and equipment in recent years.

Lightness is still scarce in the international market

  At the 2017 Latin American Aerospace and Defense Exhibition, four military trade companies from China appeared in the exhibition with the overall image of "Chinese defense", and won the praise of the participants through their technical content and high cost performance. "People's Daily" reported that China's national defense equipment aimed at the characteristics and needs of the Latin American market "shot", quickly knocked on the door of the Latin American market.

  Li Jie believes that cost-effectiveness, technology in place and a full set of services are the three "magic weapons" for my country's military industrial enterprises to open the market abroad.

  First of all, the weapons and equipment exported by my country can be "tailor-made" according to local conditions, which is "easy to use and not expensive" compared to other countries' weapons and equipment of the same level. In the international arms sales market, my country's military equipment has opened a cut in countries with the same latitude as Thailand.

  Second, my country is a large manufacturing country, with complete industrial categories, continuous breakthroughs in high-tech fields, and continuous improvement of the comprehensive capabilities of military industrial enterprises. In the development and manufacture of conventional weapons, my country is gradually catching up with the "first echelon" of the international arms sales market.

  Third, my country's military industrial enterprises provide maintenance support, technical training, personnel training and other services to the purchasing countries, and are welcomed by some countries in the process of equipment replacement in Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.

  In the 2017 Thai Army's new tank competition, the US M1A2 main battle tank competed with my country's VT-4 tank. The international market for M1A2 tanks is higher than US$8.5 million, while the VT-4 price is less than US$6 million. Moreover, VT-4 is more suitable than Thailand M1A2 for the dense water network and the staggered topography of the land, and finally won the Thai order.

  In November 2019, Bangladesh purchased 44 of my country's newly developed VT-5 light tanks. It is understood that the total weight of the VT-5 battle is only 36 tons. It is equipped with a new-generation domestic 1,000-horsepower diesel engine made in China. The maximum driving speed exceeds 70 km/h. It is freely used in jungles, deserts, water nets, rice fields and Gaoyuan. The firepower of the domestic 105 mm caliber rifle gun is not lost to the main battle tanks of other countries.

  It is understood that the VT-5 light tank draws heavily on the design concept and technology of my country's 15-type light tank. In 2018, my country officially listed 15 type light tanks, and the same type of tanks in the United States, the "Mobility Protection Active Vehicle (MPF)" project, showed its first prototype in April this year, or it will be officially deployed in fiscal 2025.

  Nanfang Daily's special military commentator Oolong Defense introduced that in recent years, several of the star-level military trade products that have appeared in my country are mostly advanced weapons that Western countries are unable or unwilling to provide. Taking VT-5 as an example, light tanks are scarce products on the international market. Countries with similar geographic environment to Bangladesh have high demand for such tanks.

  Oolong Defense believes that with the development of technology, the gold content of modern weapons is getting higher and higher, and the price is becoming more and more expensive. For some developing countries, the high cost of US-made equipment is difficult to match the actual conditions of their own countries, and Western countries have ignored the needs of these countries in the international arms sales market. my country's military industry enterprises are not only willing to use state-of-the-art technology in exporting weapons and equipment, but also helping their countries to establish production lines and overhaul lines, and have won many "loyal customers".