Type 10 tank

The Type 10 is a Japanese fourth generation main battle tank produced by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, which brought it into service in January 2012. It began as the TK-X project, meant to complement and eventually replace the Type 74 and Type 90, with development starting in the 1990s and a prototype shown on 13 February 2008 at the Technology Research and Development Institute in Sagamihara. Command, control and networking were the top design priority, because a Ministry of Defense assessment found that upgrading the older tanks was not feasible for lack of internal space. The tank weighs 40 tonnes in its base configuration, uses removable modular armour, carries a new 120 mm gun developed by Japan Steel Works with an autoloader, and has a continuously variable transmission that gives 70 km/h both forward and in reverse. Being about six tonnes lighter than the Type 90, it can be deployed across far more of Japan's bridges.