EUROSATORY NEWS: New Tank Armed with 130mm Gun Makes Debut
Rheinmetall picture
PARIS — German automotive and arms firm Rheinmetall has rolled out a brand new predominant battle tank, constructed practically from scratch, that it says will set “new requirements” for armored automobiles.
The KF51 Panther debuted June 13 throughout the Eurosatory 2022 worldwide protection convention in Paris. The tank contains a new armament system, complete situational consciousness instruments and a very digital structure, making it ideally suited for the fast-changing situations anticipated in future battlefields, in accordance with the corporate.
The car was not developed by request of any Rheinmetall buyer, however an organization spokesperson stated on the sidelines of Eurosatory that the KF51 Panther might be marketed in direction of NATO corporations.
The KF51 Panther is completely model new, minus some components of its chassis which might be derived from the Leopard 2 predominant battle tank’s chassis made by Rheinmetall, the spokesperson stated.
The car was developed in parallel to the Predominant Floor Fight System, a joint French and German mission to interchange each their Leopard 2 and Leclerc predominant battle tanks. Though the nations are nonetheless refining the necessities of the alternative tank it can want, Rheinmetall determined to debut a Leopard 2 alternative now, the spokesperson stated.
“There are 19 nations that use Leopard 2 in the intervening time, however solely perhaps one or two nations that might be concerned with the Predominant Floor Fight System mission,” he stated. “So, what ought to we do with the opposite ones? One thought was to develop the sort of tank.”
The principle characteristic of the tank is its Future Gun System, which consists of a 130mm gun and absolutely automated ammunition dealing with system — giving the KF51 Panther an enchancment in effectiveness and vary over present programs that use 120 mm armaments, in accordance with the corporate. An autoloader carries as much as 20 rounds prepared for fireplace at the back of the car separate from the crew.
A number of choices exist for lethality, the spokesperson stated. Together with a coaxial machine gun that enhances 130 mm weapon, bigger ammunition will be put into the again of the autoloader, remote-controlled weapon stations will be hooked up, and launchers for loitering munitions will be built-in, he defined.
The KF51 Panther holds a crew of three folks, together with a commander and gunner sitting within the turret and a driver within the chassis. A fourth crewmember is accessible to deal with a weapons or subsystem specialist — and even battalion commander — when wanted, the Rheinmetall spokesperson stated.
As well as, as a “absolutely digitized tank,” the battle administration system can share a typical working image with different platforms on the battlefield, he stated. Operations will also be transferred between crew members digitally.
As a result of each the turret and weapons are controllable from contained in the chassis, Rheinmetall is planning variants of the KF51 Panther that can embrace unmanned turrets, the spokesperson stated.
Optical sensors and radars are positioned throughout the KF51 Panther that present 360-degree situational consciousness to crewmembers inside, he famous. Together with energetic safety, the system offers each sensor-based reactive and passive safety, the spokesperson stated.
“If a risk comes nearer, it’s detected by the radar and verified by the optical sensors,” he defined. “If the passive components of the [KF51 Panther] aren’t sufficient, directed vitality … is pushed out, and it destroys the incoming goal.”
Rheinmetall plans to have the KF51 Panther prepared for manufacturing in 2025.
Subjects: International Protection Market
