The German Rheinmetall presented a new next generation tank for the modern battlefield. The tank, KF51, is called “Panther”, which shares its name with a tank from the time of World War II. Panther adds a larger weapon, suicide drones and a new system to defeat top attack anti-tank weapons.
Germany has introduced a new main battle tank – its first in more than 40 years. The KF51, also known as the “Panther”, is packed with new technology, including a larger main weapon, a digital backbone and a full range of defense features. The Panther even has the ability to deal with so-called “top-attack” munitions, such as the American-made Javelin missile, which decimates Putin’s army in Ukraine. On Monday, Rheinmetall, based in Düsseldorf, Germany, an arms manufacturer, unveiled the KF51 Panther at the Eurosatory arms show in France. The biennial exhibition is a showcase for European arms manufacturers to advertise their latest equipment. Rheinmetall unveiled the Panther (photo at the top of this story) in a gray, black and yellow neon digital camouflage pattern. Photo: ullstein bild Dtl. – Getty Images If the name Panther is familiar, it’s because it’s. The Panzerkampfwagen V, also known as the “Panther”, was designed in 1942 to deal with Russian tanks, including the medium-sized T-34 tank. The Panther was one of the best tanks of the war, but it suffered severely from mechanical issues and reliability problems. The Panther made its debut at the Battle of Kursk in 1943 and served on both the Eastern and Western Fronts, including D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge. The KF51 is the successor to the Leopard 2, a modern-day American tank M1 Abrams. The Leopard 2 debuted in the early 1980s and is still operating today with over twelve armies worldwide. The Leopard II has been steadily upgraded for decades, with the latest version of the German army Leopard 2A7. Unfortunately, like many upgraded systems, there comes a point where it is impractical to keep adding new things to the old system. The only way to go about it is to design something completely new. The story goes on Photo: EMMANUEL DUNAND – Getty Images The Panther is this new tank. It seems to use the basic design of the Leopard 2 hull, although the shape of the hull suggests a newer, thicker shield on the front and sides. The Panther maintains the lines of the Leopard 2 above the engine compartment, but with intense swelling. However, the Panther still reportedly has a 1,100 kilowatt / 1,500 hp engine, the same amount of power available for the Leopard 2, so there may not be much difference in the power package. The Panther turret is larger with sharper angles and a much larger protrusion above the engine compartment, the latter to store larger, heavier main weapon ammunition and to counterbalance the new 130mm main gun. The KF51 is the first production tank equipped with a 130mm main cannon, a break from the current 120mm standard. Although NATO countries – particularly the United States, Germany and France – experimented with the larger 130mm caliber in the 1990s, the end of the Cold War and relatively good relations with Russia made it unnecessary. Photo: PAVEL GOLOVKIN – Getty Images The new weapon, called the Future Gun System (FGS), is largely in response to new Russian T-14 Armatawhich was first introduced in 2015. Rheinmetall claims that the FGS has a “50 percent longer range” than the older 120mm weapons. According European security and technology, the new weapon is a 130 mm / L52 weapon, which means that the length of the barrel is 52 times larger than the diameter of the barrel. This comes in at 6,760mm, or 22.1 feet long. The barrel is also equipped with a futuristic-looking cover, but it is not clear how it contributes to the efficiency or effectiveness of the tank. The KF51, like the Leopard 2, uses an automatic loader for the main weapon. This results in a three-person crew consisting of the tank commander, the shooter and the driver. (The American M1 Abrams tank uses a human loader instead of an automatic loader, resulting in a crew of four.) However, the KF51 has room for a fourth crew memberaccording to Rheinmetall, acting either as a company-level commander or as a drone operator. The KF51 is equipped with a 12.7 mm coaxial machine gun (0.50 caliber) mounted next to the main gun. This is a larger and heavier weapon than coaxial machine guns in older tanks, which typically mount a 7.62mm machine gun. The larger machine gun allows the shooter to engage with softer, less protected targets such as trucks, light armored vehicles, guns and ground troops without wasting 130mm bullets on less armored targets. Photo: EMMANUEL DUNAND – Getty Images The Panther is equipped with a number of other new features. The tank includes digital cameras that look outwards, giving the crew 360-degree visibility without being exposed to enemy fire. A second 7.62 mm machine gun can be operated remotely from inside the tank to target drones and ground targets. The KF51 can launch four reconnaissance quadcopters from the turret, allowing tanks to conduct their own local reconnaissance. A drone launcher is integrated into the turret, capable of launching four Hero 120 loitering ammunition. The Israeli-made Hero 120 has a flight time of 60 minutes and a 9-pound warhead. The Hero 120 will allow Panther tanks to engage with targets beyond their field of vision, such as behind hills and tree lines. Top attack weapons like the Swedish NLAW and American javelin have proved disastrously effective in Ukraine, firing an explosive into the thin roof shield of a tank. Most western tanks are equally vulnerable and the Panther’s top attack defense system is the first known system dedicated to dealing with top attack weapons. It is unclear how the new defense system works, with rumors that it may include quadcopters moving to intercept incoming missiles and missiles. One of the most interesting things about the KF51 is that it weighs just 59 tons. This is relatively sleek by modern standards and will create a versatile, glamorous tank. The latest version of the M1 Abrams weighs 73.6 tons without features like a bigger weapon, stray ammunition and drones. Rheinmetall states that the tank uses active defense (active defense systems that shoot down incoming anti-tank missiles and missiles), reactive defense (explosive plates that deform a fused anti-tank missile) and passive defense (synthetic armor). The KF51 could rely more on lighter active and reactive defenses than heavier passive defenses, reducing the overall weight of the vehicle. The big question is whether one needs a new tank like the KF51. The Russian armored forces have performed incredibly well during their invasion of Ukraine, with tanks and inadequately trained crews. The body of Russia’s tanks has been badly decimated and poses less of a threat than ever. Again, the KF51’s new, innovative features and largest weapon go beyond what the current Western battlefield production — first developed in the 1970s and 1980s — can bring to the battlefield. Overcoming the threat is a safe bet, but expensive. You may also like it
