K2 Black Panther

K2 Black Panther
K2 Black Panther
	A Republic of Korea Army K2 Black Panther assigned to the 112th Mechanized Infantry Battalion moves during a joint exercise.
Type	Main battle tank
Place of origin	South Korea
Service history
In service	2014–present
Used by	See Operators
Production history
Designer	Agency for Defense Development ; Hyundai Rotem ; Poongsan Corporation ; Hanwha Systems ; Samyang Comtech ; Hyundai WIA ; Doosan Mottrol
Designed	1995–2008
Manufacturer	Hyundai Rotem
Unit cost	₩7.8 billion (production batch 1); US$8.5 million (constant 2009 USD)
Produced	2008–present
No. built	Republic of Korea Army: Batch I: 100, Batch II: 106, Batch III: 54, Batch IV: 150 (ordered); Polish Land Forces: Batch I: 180, Batch II: 180 (ordered); Total: 440;
Specifications
Mass	Curb weight: 55 metric tons (54 long tons; 61 short tons) ; Combat weight: 56 metric tons (55 long tons; 62 short tons)
Length	Overall: 10.8 meters (35 ft 5 in) ; Chassis: 7.5 meters (24 ft 7 in)
Width	3.6 meters (11 ft 10 in)
Height	Highest: 2.4 meters (7 ft 10 in) ; Lowest: 2 meters (6 ft 7 in)
Crew	3 (commander, gunner and driver)
Armor	MIL-12560H armor steel and silicon carbide non-oxide ceramic plate along with ERA and NERA modular add-on armor
Main; armament	Hyundai WIA CN08 120 mm 55 caliber smoothbore gun (40 rounds, 16 available in the bustle autoloader)
Secondary; armament	1× 12.7×99mm NATO K6 heavy machine gun (3,200 rounds) ; 1× 7.62×51mm NATO coaxial machine gun (12,000 rounds)
Engine	Batch I: STX Engine/MTU Friedrichshafen MT883 Ka-501 4-short stroke, 12-cylinder water-cooled diesel, dry weight: 2,064 kg ; 1,500 hp (1,103 kW); Batch II-IV: HD Hyundai Infracore DV27K 4-long stroke, 12-cylinder water-cooled diesel, dry weight: 2,550 kg ; 1,500 hp (1,110 kW);
Power/weight	27.3 hp/t (20.35 kW/t)
Transmission	Batch I-III: RENK HSWL 295 TM (5 forward, 5 reverse gears), dry weight: 2,450 kg; Batch IV: SNT Dynamics EST15K (6 forward, 3 reverse gears), dry weight: 2,500 kg;
Suspension	Semi-active in-arm suspension unit (ISU) with dynamic track tension system (DTTS)
Fuel capacity	1,296 liters (342 U.S. gal)
Operational; range	450 km (280 mi)
Maximum speed	Paved road: 70 km/h (43 mph) ; Cross country: 50 km/h (31 mph) ; Acceleration from 0–32 km/h (0–20 mph) in 7.47 seconds (MT883 Ka-501) or 8.77 seconds (DV27K)

K2 Black Panther (Korean: K-2 흑표; Hanja: K-2 黑豹; RR: K-2 Heukpyo) is a South Korean fourth-generation main battle tank (MBT), designed by the Agency for Defense Development and manufactured by Hyundai Rotem. The tank's design began in the 1990s to meet the strategic requirements of the Republic of Korea Army's reform for three-dimensional, high-speed maneuver warfare based on use of network-centric warfare.

Over its predecessor, the K1, K2 features improved protection, mobility, firepower, increased integration with korean industry, and crew operability. the focus of the design places emphasis on lower weight, higher mobility and increased modularity, and upgrade potential. As a result, the K2 Black Panther attains several modern features such as extensive integration of Vetronics, advanced sensors, space optimisation, and increased automation.

Development of the K2 entered System Concept Research phase in 1995, Exploratory development in 1998~2002, and started Full Scale Development on June 2003. Development of the vehicle excluding the Powerpack concluded in 2008, following trials by the army. work on the domestic powerpack kept the tanks from entering service until in 2012, decision was made to implement 100 EuroPowerPacks on the first production batch. The first 6 K2 black panthers entered service with the Republic of Korea Army on June 29th, 2014.