Type 85-IIM

The Type 85-IIM is a tier 5 Main Battle Tank originating from China, and is sold by Zhang Feng. It can be unlocked from the Type 80-II, and leads to the Type 90-II.

Features

 * Heavy armor: this vehicle's armor bounces more shots and takes more hits.
 * High caliber: the high caliber weaponry deals an increased damage.
 * Heavy armored turret: this vehicle's turret is better protected than other vehicles of this tier.

Player Recommendations
The Type 85-IIM is one of the better T5 MBTs, with a strong DPM when fully upgraded, one of the fastest turret traverses of its tier, and a combination of relatively high camo and a good base view range. In combination with its strong turret and hull armor, it is a very versatile tank that can operate in a variety of roles.

Pros

 * Low profile relative to Western designs
 * Highly mobile
 * Strong turret armor

Cons

 * Mediocre gun depression
 * Large lower front plate with weak protection

Upgrade Suggestions
Firepower upgrades, starting with the Improved Fire Control, will allow the vehicle to punch much harder against opponents. While upgrading Smoke Grenades is useful, it shouldn’t be researched before Improved Fire Control.

Retrofit Suggestions

 * Advanced Muzzle Reference System
 * Advanced Fire Control
 * Augmented Optics
 * Improved Gun Breech
 * Improved Pioneer Tool Kit
 * Improved Spall Liner

Commander and Crew Skill Suggestions

 * Commander: Philipp Holzklau, to improve the aim speed, vision range and crew stats
 * Driver: Smooth Ride, Off-Road Driving
 * Gunner: Sharpshooter, Do the Twist/Quick Draw

History
Class: Main Battle Tank Developed: 1988-1990 Service: 1991-1993+ Vehicles Built: cca 200 Operators: Pakistan The Type 85 Main Battle Tank is an evolution of the Type 80/88 MBT. Unlike the Type 88, the Type 85 was built purely for export and it was actually relatively successful when it came to that, but it took a lot of time to achieve that success. In 1988, when the Type 80 MBT was introduced, it was decided to develop the vehicle in two parallel branches. The first would be for limited domestic use and was called Type 88 in Chinese service. The second would be an export version called Type 85. The initial prototype of this new tank was, once again, developed by NORINCO and was based on the Type 80-II, which had also been introduced by 1988. Development took place between 1988 and 1989. The reason behind the prototype&#39;s development was actually rather complex. Initially, NORINCO intended to export the Type 80-II as it was, but during trials they discovered several major problems with it compared to western export types, mostly related to maintenance and reliability. These and other issues were to be addressed in the new prototype that was ready by 1989 and is known under the designations of Storm-1 and Type 85-I. The reason the Type 85 name was chosen was that the developers themselves felt the tank was not on par with the best available in 1989. The biggest difference between the Type 80-II and the Storm-1 export tank was the brand new, electrically-traversed, welded turret featuring composite armor, which made it more resistant to HEAT shells. Another important factor was that the round, cast turret was not scalable using the technology the Chinese had at their disposal. The old cast turrets were effective against obsolete APCBC ammunition and even with it the non-penetrations could kill the crew just as well. The rest remained mostly as it was. The Storm-1 tank was generally not a success. It was unreliable and underpowered. Undeterred, NORINCO engineers made a number of changes to the Storm-1 tank that included new transmission, an improved 800hp engine and a new variant of the 105mm gun called Type 83-I. This version became known as Storm-2 or Type 85-II. By May 1990, two prototypes had been built and sent abroad to an undisclosed country for harsh trials. These trials unveiled a number of flaws and unfortunately introduced the vehicle to potential customers in its raw and unfinished form. As a result, Storm-2 met the same fate as its older sibling and remained at the prototype stage. The trials did, however, spark Pakistani interest in the vehicle. Pakistan subsequently requested a number of changes that were included into the vehicle to produce the version known as Type 85-IIAP or Type-85-IIM. This vehicle was a significant improvement on the Storm-2 prototype. According to the Chinese, the biggest factor in adopting a new MBT for potential customers was improved firepower tied to a modern FCS, which is why for the Type-85-IIM the main weapon was replaced with a 125mm Type 83 smoothbore gun. The gun was a copy of the Soviet 2A46, which had been reverse-engineered from a Romanian T-72 that was given to China after the Romanian-Soviet political split of the 1980s. Pakistan purchased two hundred Type 85-IIAPs. The deal was closed in 1991 and the first vehicles appeared in public during the March 1993 military parade in Islamabad.