Thailand to buy VN16s from China
The Royal Thai Marine Corps (RTMC) has chosen Chinese-built VN16 amphibious light tanks armed with a 105mm gun for deployment on its upcoming Type 071E landing platform dock (LPD) ship.
On 8 September, the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) announced it would purchase three VN16s, the export version of the ZTD-05A, from Norinco for $12.83 million. At $4.27 million each, China reduced the price due to the limited budget of the RTN.
The deal’s objective is to increase the offensive firepower of the RTMC in offensive land operations. It also increases combat power for amphibious operations, with VN16s operating alongside
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