ROTEM K2 (Black Panther)

History

The Korean (Republic of Korea - "Korea") military has four branches - Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. The largest contingent is the Army, with an average of approximately 550,000 conscripts serving annually.

The force is divided into three armies, the 1st Corps GOC (Ground Operations Command) is responsible for defending the capital and the western DMZ (demilitarized zone), the 3rd Corps GOC is responsible for the eastern DMZ and the 2nd Corps ROC (rear operational command). ) in the South. Due to the rugged terrain of the Korean peninsula and the 1 million troops commanded by North Korea, two-thirds of which are stationed in the demilitarized zone, a large number of troops are required.

Army Materiel Command has 4,975 tanks available, including the traditional M47 Patton, M48 Patton, and the newer ROTEM K1 and ROTEM K1A1 main battle tanks (these are variants of the American M1 Abrams, although they are made in Korea ) and as a collection of various armored vehicles. Also available are 5,508 artillery systems of all types - tracked, wheeled or trailed.

South Korea needs advanced main battle tanks to stop North Korean crowds and its own advanced tanks in the event of a full-scale war. The new K2 series was developed from the XK2 program and developed into the K2 "Panther" main battle tank. The K2 is powered by a 1500 hp German MTU Europowerpack engine, armed with a 120mm Rheinmetall smoothbore gun and an autoloader with a rate of fire of up to 15 rounds per minute. According to reports, the bullets can penetrate the armor of the American tank M1A2 Abrams. Radar equipment and laser detection systems and reactive armor are comparable to the French LeClerc main battle tanks and the American M1A2 Abrams main battle tanks.

Equipped with a water snorkel (via kit), the K2 can traverse water obstacles up to 4.2 m (13.78 ft) deep. It takes about 30 minutes to set up the waterproofing system, and once dry, the tank can fire the main gun. The K2 can accelerate from 0 to 32 km/h in about 7 seconds.

She can also climb 60-degree slopes and overcome vertical obstacles up to 1.3 meters.

Equipped with a first-line fire control system, the K2 can track and engage other tanks, as well as unconventional tank targets such as low-flying helicopters, and has an effective range of up to 10 kilometers (6.2 miles). The fire control system is capable of firing at vehicle-sized automatic targets without crew intervention. The mainstay of 120mm ammunition is the KSTAM cartridge (Korean Smart Top Assault Ammo). KSTAM is a fire-and-forget smart projectile with its own in-flight guidance system and stabilizer.

The bullets can be fired from behind cover and have a maximum range of 8 km (4.97 miles). The three crew consisting of commander, gunner and driver are protected by NBC systems (nuclear, biological, chemical) and secret armor.

The friendly protection system is linked to the navigation system to provide situational awareness. The MTU MB-883 KA500 engine produces 1500 horsepower, while the advanced suspension system is semi-automatic hydropneumatic. The tank can be tilted forward, backward and sideways.

Each wheel is connected in such a way that multiple firing angles are possible depending on the position of the target relative to the tank.

The Korean government wants to be the first player in the global military weapons game, and K2 is a proposal for that game. At the time of writing, the K2 is still in development, but when complete it will be a domestically produced digital 21st century main battle tank that rivals any tank in the world.

Production total 680 is the possible total. Fewer than 25 prototypes have actually been built to date. Turkey is a possible export customer.

November 2018 - Gulf state Oman expressed interest in buying up to 76 K2 Panther main battle tanks from South Korea.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

for everyone else in our database)

Armor

40 x 120 mm projectile.

3,200 x 12.7mm ammunition.

12,000 x 7.62mm ammo.

12 x Smoke Grenade.

Changes