appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Chao Kong

Chinese military researchers have outlined an ambitious plan to develop a nuclear-powered main battle tank armed with an electromagnetic railgun capable of hitting targets up to 450km (280 miles) away, possibly debuting after 2045.
Detailed in a peer-reviewed paper published in June in the Chinese journal Acta Armamentarii, the concept envisions a 60-tonne armoured vehicle driven by a 10-megawatt-class small modular reactor (SMR) and a 50-megajoule (MJ) railgun.
The paper was written by researchers from Inner Mongolia First Machinery Group – part of China’s defence industrial system and closely associated with the development and manufacture of tanks and armoured vehicles – and the Beijing Institute of Technology.
The National Key Laboratory of Special Vehicle Design and Manufacturing Integration Technology funded the study through a special research project.


The authors proposed a three-stage development path.
Before 2035, the focus would be on integrating electromagnetic weapons into existing tank platforms using relatively mature power systems, with the paper envisaging a 60-tonne-class main battle tank equipped with a 150km range and 10MJ electromagnetic gun, 2MJ electromagnetic armour and a 1,500-horsepower diesel generator paired with hybrid-energy storage based on supercapacitors and flywheels.
Between 2035 and 2045, the proposed system would move towards higher-energy weapons and denser on-board energy storage, with a 300km range and 20MJ electromagnetic gun and 10MJ active electromagnetic armour supported by a 2,000-horsepower diesel system, 5 tonnes of advanced energy storage, solid-state batteries, superconducting storage and an intelligent microgrid.
After 2045, the researchers would aim to develop a fully nuclear-powered tank with a 50MJ railgun. The weapon could theoretically reach about 3.5km/s, giving a notional range of roughly 450km.
For scale, 50MJ is roughly equivalent to the energy an electric car might consume over 90 to 100km, depending on efficiency.
The proposed reactor would need to fit within 2 cubic metres (70.6 cubic feet), according to the paper, while its radiation shielding would have to weigh no more than 3 tonnes and its fuel replacement interval would need to reach at least five years.
The difficulty, however, lies less in the total amount of energy than in delivering it in an extremely short pulse.
The SMR remains the least mature part of the proposed system, with the paper describing a 10MW thermal lead-bismuth-cooled reactor and saying current work remained largely at the simulation stage.
According to the paper, the reactor and its shielding would need to withstand about 30g (the impact of gravitational acceleration shock) of off-road shock while remaining small and light enough to fit inside a 60-tonne armoured vehicle.
The authors wrote that further multi-physics simulations and vehicle-level testing would be needed before the proposed systems could move towards practical deployment.
Yet, there are immediate questions over whether such a nuclear-powered vehicle would be practical.




A veteran military equipment expert said a fission-powered tank would face problems extending far beyond the reactor itself.
“Fission reactors are relatively mature and can be miniaturised, but applying one to a tank is still unrealistic,” said the expert, who asked not to be named, citing the sensitivity of the issue.
The reactor would also require power-conversion equipment, radiation shielding and heat dissipation while competing for space and weight with armour, weapons and crew protection, he said.
“Regardless of whether the technology and materials are sufficient, the overall volume and weight alone could make it lose its practical significance.”
The military expert also questioned the military value of effectively unlimited on-board energy.
“Even if a tank achieved ‘unlimited power’, the advantage would be limited because personnel still need rest and ammunition still needs replenishment,” he said.
The problem of survivability could become more serious as anti-tank missiles and drones proliferate, he continued, because a reactor mounted on a crewed combat vehicle would add another liability if the vehicle were destroyed.
The military expert instead suggested abandoning the traditional concept of a heavily protected, highly mobile crewed gun platform.
“It should become uncrewed, use high-energy lasers or microwave weapons, and exploit the advantage of ‘unlimited electricity’ by carrying high-power radars and electronic-warfare equipment,” he added.
Such a system could combine reconnaissance, strike, short-range air defence, communications and electronic warfare across a network of uncrewed vehicles.
The South China Morning Post reached out to a senior researcher at Inner Mongolia First Machinery Group for comment.


T. rex was warm-blooded and had body temperature close to ours, study finds

China uses 100,000 home-grown AI chips to build leading weather forecast system

Geologists find unexpectedly large water sources in Xinjiang beneath China’s largest desert

Chinese scientists build world’s smallest CT scanner, weighing just 6kg

Science

China mulls building nuclear-powered tank with 450km-range railgun in 2 decades

Members of the People’s Liberation Army Ground Assault Formation stand in open hatches of armoured vehicles during a military parade in Beijing on September 3, 2025. Photo: Reuters

For China, H-6N bomber enhances nuclear deterrence and second-strike capability

The H6 is the only strategic bomber of the People’s Liberation Army. Photo: Handout

Why PLA’s laser-equipped Type 19 vehicle could matter in a Taiwan conflict

A new variant of the PLA’s Type 19 amphibious combat vehicle features a turret-mounted laser weapon and extra sensors. Photo: CCTV

US scrambles to match China’s air-breathing hypersonic missiles with Darpa programme

China’s YJ-19 anti-ship missile makes its debut at a military parade in Beijing, China, on September 3, 2025. Photo: Eugene Lee

PLA Rocket Force highlights ‘major danger signal’ from Japan in nuclear terror study

China and four other nuclear powers have stated “a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought”. Photo: Reuters 

Chinese military’s AI attack chain lags foreign models: researchers

China’s military has yet to develop a sufficiently large pool of personnel trained systematically in AI and big data, according to the researchers. Photo: Shutterstock

News

China

Further multi-physics simulations and vehicle-level testing needed before proposed systems could move towards practical deployment


Further multi-physics simulations and vehicle-level testing needed before proposed systems could move towards practical deployment.


China Post

China mulls building nuclear-powered tank with 450km-range railgun in 2 decades

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Further multi-physics simulations and vehicle-level testing needed before proposed systems could move towards practical deployment

Further multi-physics simulations and vehicle-level testing needed before proposed systems could move towards practical deployment