K2 Black Panther: What makes this lethal tank so powerful? South Korea lives with precarious geography. The Republic of Korea sits on the edge of a peninsula, with its back to the sea and cornered by a dangerous rival. Technically, the ROK has been at war with its northern neighbor, North Korea, since 1950. No peace treaty was ever signed to end the Korean War. Backed by the United States, South Korea seems always on the verge of conflict with their China-backed northern neighbor.
Naturally, given their geographic realities, South Korean war planners place an emphasis on ground forces. That emphasis has resulted in the production of one of the most advanced, most expensive battle tanks ever built, the K2 Black Panther.
The World’s First Fourth-Generation Tank
At $8.5 million per unit, the K2 Black Panther is a big investment in South Korea’s defensive abilities. Manufactured by Hyundai Rotem, the K2 is no Elantra. It is generally considered a fourth-generation tank – the only fourth-generation tank currently in service, anywhere.
In the 1990s, South Korea enjoyed a tank advantage over the DPRK. North Korea still relied on Cold War Soviet models like the T-55s and Type 59s – outdated relics. South Korea, on the other hand, was operating K1 and KA1 models, capable tanks designed in the 1980s. Given their tight geopolitical circumstances, the South Koreans were not satisfied with this advantage. They set about designing an improved model.
Research began in the late 1990s with efforts to create a cutting-edge tank that incorporated automatic target tracking devices, autoloaders, and 21st century operating software. By the early aughts, testing began, and by 2014, the K2 entered service as one of the world’s most advanced tank models.
The K2 is armed with a CN08 120mm 55 caliber smoothbore gun, with an autoloader that allows for firing of up to 10 rounds per minute. During the design phase, the South Koreans considered outfitting the K2 Black Panther with Rheinmetall’s experimental 140mm smoothbore gun, but the Hyundai-built CN08 won out. Supplementing the main gun are two machine guns: a 12.7mm K6 heavy machine gun and a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun.
The K2 Black Panther Is a Highly Capable Shooter
To fire the 120mm main gun, the K2 depends on an advanced fire-control system. Using an Extremely High-Frequency radar system, a Raman laser rangefinder, and a crosswind sensor, the K2 is capable of lock-on targeting. This means the tank can acquire and track targets, using a thermographic camera, at a range of up to 6 miles. The result is a highly capable gun. It can fire on the move, and it is even capable of engaging low-flying aircraft. The fire control system can also account for the tank’s movement over uneven terrain, making minuscule adjustments to improve accuracy while rolling over bumps and divots.
The K2 is a mobile tank. Capable of reaching speeds of 70 km per hour, the K2 accelerates from 0 to 32 km per hour in just 8.7 seconds. In off-road conditions the K2 can cruise, maintaining speeds up to 52 kph. Designed for rugged battlefield terrain, the K2 can climb 60-degree slopes and scale 1.8-meter-high vertical objects. The K2 can even ford rivers as deep as 4.1 meters (with just 20 to 30 minutes of preparation). Using a snorkel system, the K2 chassis can take in 500 gallons of water, helping the tank sink down and maintain traction on the river bottom. The turret remains watertight. Indeed, the K2 is versatile. By comparison, the tank’s predecessor, the K1, needed two hours of preparation to cross a river two meters deep.
Image: Creative Commons.
The K2 Black Panther is a futuristic tank designed for a generations-old feud. Hopefully, the Black Panther will never be needed for its intended purpose, a land war with North Korea.
Harrison Kass is a Senior Defense Editor at 19FortyFive. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, he joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison has degrees from Lake Forest College, the University of Oregon, and New York University. He lives in Oregon and regularly listens to Dokken.
