The Type 74 is a main battle tank (MBT) of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF). It was built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries as a supplement to the earlier Type 61. It was based on the best features of a number of contemporary designs, placing it in the same class as the US M60 Patton or German Leopard 1. Like these designs, it mounts the Royal Ordnance L7 rifled 105 mm gun. The design did not enter widespread use until 1980, by which point other Western forces had introduced more capable designs. It was followed by the heavier Type 90. Both the Type 74 and Type 90 are supplemented and will be eventually replaced by the new-generation Type 10 tank.