K2 Black Panther
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| K2 Black Panther | |
|---|---|
| General characteristics | |
| Crew | 3 (commander, gunner, driver) |
| Length | 10 m (7.5m chassis) |
| Width | 3.1 m |
| Height | 2.2 m |
| Weight | 55 tonnes |
| Armour and armament | |
| Armour | Layers consisting of soft- and hard-kill anti-missile defense, ERA, NERA, modular & new unknown type of composite |
| Main armament | 120 mm, 55 caliber smoothbore gun (40 rounds) |
| Secondary armament | 1× .50 cal.(12.7 mm) K6 heavy machine gun (3,200 rounds) 1x 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun (12,000 rounds) |
| Mobility | |
| Power plant | 4-cycle, 12-cylinder water-cooled diesel (similar to MTU-890) 1,500 hp |
| Suspension | In-arm Suspension Unit |
| Road speed | 70 km/h (acceleration of 0-32 km/h within 7 seconds) |
| Power/weight | 27.2 hp/tonne |
| Range | N/A |
K2 Black Panther (formerly known as KNMBT, or Korean New Main Battle Tank and XK2, or eXperimental K2) (Hangul: 차기전차 K2 '흑표') is the Republic of Korea's recently revealed prototype for a next-generation main battle tank. The vehicle was developed by the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) of South Korea using purely indigenous technology with budget of over $230 million U.S. dollars for the past eleven years since 1995, and will be the successor to the K1 series main battle tanks.
The design phase has been in work since 1995, with the first prototypes being tested by 2003. The Black Panther has reached its production phase on March 2nd, 2007, when the first of the three production models rolled out the assembly line in Changwon, South Korea. The ROK Army is planning to field approximately 680 Black Panthers when the full-scale mass-production starts in 2011.
The main production of the vehicle is responsible by Rotem, with many of the sub-systems being supplied by Samsung Techwin and World Industries Ace Corporation.
Contents |
[edit] Maneuverability and Offensive Features
The Black Panther features new 1,500 horsepower engines (up from the 1,200 horsepower of the K1 series), similar to MTU-890, developed and manufactured by Doosan Infracore Corporation and STX Engine Corporation. The vehicle can travel at speeds up to 70 km/h on surface roads, while being able to maintain speeds up to 48 km/h on off-road conditions. It can accelerate from 0 to 32 km/h within 7 seconds. The engine, being smaller than many other types of engine that generate similar amounts of power, allowed the designers to fit a small gas-turbine engine, produced by Samsung Techwin and capable of outputting 400 horsepower, into the space that was left over, which will act as an auxiliary power unit for the tank to power its onboard systems even when its main engines are turned off. It will allow the tank to conserve fuel when idling and reduce the vehicle's overall thermal and acoustic signatures.
The vehicle can cross rivers as deep as 4.1 meters using a snorkel, which is a considerable improvement over the K1 and K1A1, as those vehicles were only able to cross rivers up to 2.2 meters deep. The tank can enter combat-ready status as soon as it resurfaces. It can also climb 60 degree slopes and vertical obstacles 1.3 meters in height.
Armaments include an indigenous 120 mm smoothbore gun, 55 caliber in barrel length, developed by ADD and manufactured by World Industries Ace Corporation (formerly known as Kia Heavy Industries), a 12.7 mm K-6 heavy machine gun and a 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun. The ammunition for the main gun is loaded in a 16-shell magazine, with a total ammunition capacity of 40. The new autoloader enables the tank to fire up to 15 rounds per minute, or one round every four seconds.
The vehicle can fire a variety of munitions using its main gun including, but not limited to, an indigenously developed and improved tungsten APDSFS kinetic energy penetrators, which offer significantly better penetration than the previous generation tungsten rounds, and multi-purpose HEAT chemical energy rounds similar to the American M830A1 HEAT MP-T that can be used against personnel, unarmored and lightly armored vehicles on the ground as well as low-flying helicopters.
Another munition for the tank's main gun is the KSTAM (Korean Smart Top-Attack Munition) rounds, similar to the SMArt 155, designed specifically for use with the Black Panther. The munition was co-developed by South Korea and the German Diehl Corporation. It is basically a top-attack anti-tank munition that is launched from the tank's main gun, launched in similar fashion that one expects from a mortar or long-range artillery with curved trajectory. It should not to be confused with an anti-tank missile - it does not contain any rocket propellants or motors, and travels through the air solely with the energy applied to it during the firing from the main gun. The munition has its own guidance and obstacle-avoidance systems, small millimeter band RADAR, IR, radiometer sensors and EFP. After being fired, the munition will follow its firing trajectory, aided by four fins to stabilize its flight, and travel over to its designated target area, whereupon a parachute will deploy to slow its fall, giving the onboard RADAR system and sensors enough time to seek and acquire stationary or moving targets and fire away its EFP at the top of the target. During the whole time, the launch vehicle does not need to reveal itself at all and can attack its targets while hiding behind cover while firing off multiple munitions, as they are fire-and-forget and attack targets completely independent of input, providing an effective indirect-fire support or countermeasures against targets hidden behind obstacles and structures. The munition can also be manually controlled in a limited fashion by live data link connection with the launch vehicle. The minimum range of the munition is 2 km, while the maximum range is 8 km.
The turret is driven by electrical motors.
The Black Panther will apparently inherit an even more advanced type of the extensive suspension system that the K1 series has, which can "sit", "stand" and "kneel" by adjusting its front, middle and rear bogies. The K1 series currently uses hybrid package of torsion bars and HSU, or Hydropneumatic Suspension Unit. The K2, however, will utilize an ISU, or In-arm Suspension Unit, which is also developed for the up-and-coming XK21 KNIFV, installed on every bogie on the tracks, with every one of them being able to be individually controlled. The new ISU is also lighter and simpler to maintain than the HSU. Thus, the K2 will be able not only to "sit", "stand" and "kneel", but to "lean" towards a side or a corner as well. "Sitting" gives the tank lower profile and offer better handling over roads. "Standing" gives the vehicle higher ground clearance and allows it to have better maneuverability over rough terrain. "Kneeling" increases the amount of angle that the tank's gun barrel can elevate and depress, which allows the tank to fire its main gun downhill--something that very few tanks, if there are any others at all, can do--and give it better ability to engage low-flying aircraft. The new suspension unit also gives the tank an advantage when traveling on uneven terrain as they can be adjusted on-the-fly automatically to lessen the vibration.
The tank will also be equipped with a millimeter band RADAR system, along with the traditional LASER range-finder and crosswind sensor, combined with next-generation FCS, that will allow it to track and engage low-flying aircraft with the main gun quickly and accurately as well as detect incoming projectiles fired at the tank. A "lock-on" mode will be available for the tank's FCS to keep its target locked on to the targeting system, with the system calculating, adjusting and updating the target's information constantly, allowing the tank to fire while moving without any loss of accuracy. The lock-on mode can acquire and track its target using thermal optics wired to the FCS up to 9.8 km away.
A unique feature of the Black Panther's FCS is a built-in trigger-delay mechanism. Other main battle tanks, including the French LeClerc, the closest counterpart to the Black Panther in terms of electronics, sensors and fire control system, can miss their target when they fire their gun and hit a slight bump at the same time. The designers foresaw this and compensated it by installing a simple mechanism consisting of a tiny LASER emitter and receiver linked to the FCS. The LASER emitter is installed near the top of the gun barrel, with the receiver being placed at the base. The gun can only be fired when the receiver is precisely aligned with the emitting LASER. An example of the mechanism's usage is when the gunner presses the trigger, which is linked directly to the FCS, and the tank comes upon an irregularity on the terrain at the same moment, the LASER will find itself off the mark by the sudden shaking and the FCS will delay the round from being fired until the very moment when the LASER beam is re-aligned to the receiver again as the barrel shakes up and down repeatedly, where the FCS will automatically fire off the gun by itself. This system, combined with an advanced gun stabilizer, will significantly improve the tank's ability to hit its target while moving on uneven terrain.
The KGPS (Korean Gunner's Primary Sight) and the KCPS (Korean Commander's Panoramic Sight) are also present in the Black Panther, as they have been in the K1A1 tanks. The optics system on the Black Panther, however, will be further improved to utilize the advantages of the sensors and armaments offered on the new vehicle.
The commander of the tank also has the ability to override the command to take control of the turret and gun from the gunner.
An onboard GPS uplink allows the crew to be highly aware of its surroundings. Also included in the package is an environmental sensor that can detect if the tank has entered a hazardous environment.
The tank also has the ability to link up with C4I.
It also features an IFF/SIF system compliant with STANAG 4579.
[edit] Armor and Defensive Features
Defense against incoming missiles include soft-kill anti-missile systems. The Black Panther is equipped with three all-bearing LASER detection pods, also produced by Samsung Techwin, that indicates from which direction the enemy is illuminating the tank from, as well as LASER and RADAR warning receivers and jammers.
As for the initial version of the K2, it will not contain any hard-kill anti-missile defense system. However, the K2 PIP, which is an improved version of the initial version slated to be released within the next few years, will contain either the Russian Arena-E anti-missile system or a domestic variant of the system developed from the Arena-E.
The armor on the Black Panther consist of an unknown type of composite armor and an Active Defense System utilizing Explosive Reactive Armor blocks. Modular armor will allow quick replacement of damaged parts.
Smoke grenade, chaff and flare launchers also compliment the defensive layer of the Black Panther.
Using the vehicle's millimeter band RADAR system, the vehicle's computer can automatically detect any incoming projectiles, immediately warn the vehicle crews and fire off smoke grenades, which can effectively block visual, RADAR and thermal sights, in the direction of the incoming projectile, causing the missile to lose its target and miss while the crews move the vehicle to a safer position.
Automatic fire-suppression system is also available to detect and put out any internal fires that might erupt.
[edit] Extra Features
The tank is also fitted with Inter-Vehicular Information System, or IVIS for short, for rapid coordination and increased situational awareness between friendly forces.
Work is under way to integrate unmanned wheeled reconnaissance vehicle, designated as XAV or eXperimental Autonomous Vehicle, into Black Panther's systems, giving the tank ability to remotely scout the designated area without exposing itself.
Unconfirmed report states that, in case of an emergency, the vehicle can be commandeered by only two, or even a single, crew member. The FCS can automatically spot and track visible targets, compare them using the data link established with other friendly vehicles to prevent redundant target engagements, and fire its main gun without needing any input from a human operator.
[edit] Costs
The highly sophisticated Black Panther comes with a staggering price tag of approximately ₩8,300,000,000 Korean won, or around USD$8.5m, per unit. This is almost twice compared to the cost of a K1A1, which is priced at ₩4,500,000,000 per unit, or around USD$4.9m. However, it should be noted that the current estimated cost figures for the XK2 will most likely decrease once the tank is mass-produced and offered for sale to foreign nations.
[edit] K2 Performance Improvement Program
The K2 PIP is an improved version of the initial production model of the K2 that will be released within the next few years. Improvements will include;
- Switching the Semi-Active In-arm Suspension Unit to completely Active In-arm Suspension Unit and integrating the suspension system with a high-resolution automatic terrain-scanning system that can scan nearby terrain from 10 to 50 meters away from the tank in all directions, which will allow the vehicle to "plan ahead" and calculate the most optimal position the bogies need to be at in order to improve handling of the vehicle and further lessen the vehicle's vibration.
- Integration of a hard-kill anti-missile system, either the Arena-E or a domestically produced copy of it.
[edit] Trivia
- The T-80U tanks that the Russians gave away to the South Koreans in order to pay off the Russian national debt owed to South Korea contributed to the K2's development.
- Independent design of Black Panther allows the Korean defense companies to export the newly developed tank. Often, designs licensed from other nations have strong restrictions against subsidiary licensing to a third country. Although it is possible for licensed production to allow for third country distribution rights, such rights are costly and rarely given. Korea has traditionally relied on licensed production of U.S. weapons systems, and thus the country had not been able to participate in the international military market until recently. The Black Panther is believed to be sufficiently new in design to be able to participate in the international market without any licensing issues.
- The ROK government has promised to dispatch some of their Black Panthers for the United Nations Peacekeeping missions. This will most likely serve as full-scale environmental test for the vehicles.
- There were two major designs that were underway, one being fitted with manned turret and another being fitted with unmanned turret. The unmanned turret design was scrapped during the design phase, and the manned turret version completely took over.
[edit] Exports
Although no official announcements have been made, Turkey is said to be currently interested to purchase either the K2 Black Panther or the French LeClerc to further modernize their military. It is currently said that the Black Panther is being highly favored over the LeClerc due to the strains in political relationships between Turkey and France.
[edit] External links
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