Agencies,
A Ukrainian plant is ready to supply Pakistan with parts for main battle tanks and can assist Libya in upgrading its Soviet-built armoured vehicles, a report said today.
Malyshev plant can provide Pakistan with engines, transmissions and weapons for al-Khalid tanks, private TV5 quoted Plant Director Henadiy Hrytsenko as saying. dt
Ukraine is a key partner in a joint venture that also includes China and Pakistan to build al-Khalid tanks, also known as MBT-2000s.
The tanks are fitted with 125mm smooth bore guns that can also fire missiles, according to defense and space web site globalsecurity.org. Ukrainian tank engines can withstand hot climates and desert conditions. Each tank weighs 46 tons and carries a three-member crew.
The Malyshev plant also recently announced plans to sell a number of T-80u tanks to Pakistan, whose armed forces already have large numbers of Russian or Ukrainian-built T-72, T-80 and T-80u tanks; MiG fighter jets and Mi helicopters.
Hrytsenko also was quoted as saying that Ukraine could help Libya renovate its soviet-built armored vehicles. “There are more than 3,000 Soviet-built armoured vehicles in that country, and they all badly need an upgrade and repairs,” Hrytsenko said following talks with a Libyan military delegation yesterday.
After the 1991 Soviet collapse, Ukraine has inherited huge weapons arsenals and a sizable military industry.
