The new German tank is "in all respects" superior to the Russian T-14
Germany has presented a prototype of the new KF-51 Panther tank, writes The Times. Experts say that it is not so radically different from previous samples. However, according to the manufacturer, it will easily surpass the Russian T-14 Armata.
Oliver Moody
Germany's largest arms manufacturer unexpectedly demonstrated the first prototypes of a modern battle tank, saying that it would easily surpass the pride of the Russian army T-14.
The KF-51 Panther tank, whose cannon has a range of actual fire over six kilometers, was created in secret for two years. But after the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, its development was hastily brought to an end in the hope of a golden shower of profits due to a sharp increase in military spending around the world. The tank is also equipped with anti-tank kamikaze drones with a 4.5 kilogram explosive charge, which can circle in the sky for an hour in order to dive on an enemy armored target at the right moment.
The KF-51 was named the successor of the well-proven Leopard 2, which was the main battle tank of Germany for more than 40 years and was supplied to a dozen and a half countries. However, it seems that the Panther also became the answer to the modern Russian T-14 Armata tank, whose combat characteristics cause concern among NATO strategists. However, so far no more than three dozen such tanks have been built, and they practically did not participate in the fighting in Ukraine.
Rheinmetall, the manufacturer of the KF-51, claims that its tank is superior to the Russian T-14 "in all respects." She claims that its main gun, a 130-millimeter smoothbore cannon, can fire larger shells and much further than other modern tanks, including the British new-generation Challenger 3 and the American M1-A2 Abrams.
The tank has other innovations, such as an automatic loader, thanks to which, theoretically, its crew can consist of not four, but three people. In addition, he has a machine gun behind him to fight drones.
German military experts were generally impressed by the characteristics of the tank, but they note that it is not as radically different from previous models as the T-14, since its chassis is almost the same as that of the Leopard 2. Some experts were also surprised by the choice of the name. Tanks with this name were used by the German Wehrmacht in the last two years of World War II.
The development of this model cost Rheinmetall more than 100 million euros, and its mass production will begin no earlier than in two years. It is unclear whether this machine will be cost-effective and commercially successful. The German government has already committed to take part in a competitive Franco-German project called "Basic Ground Combat System" (MGCS).
It seems that the KF-51 is an attempt to knock the ground out from under the feet of the unwieldy MGCS tank, which will not be put into service until the 2040s. But so far Germany does not plan to spend a cent of the 100 billion rearmament fund on new tanks.
