Presented by the German arms concern Rheinmetall in mid-June 2022 at the Eurosatory exhibition main battle tank (MBT) "Panther" KF51 (Panther KF51) was covered in sufficient detail in the foreign and Russian sectors of the Internet. Some articles were published by us (read here and here ).
At the same time, in Berlin, at the beginning of December 2022, during the annual discussion on defense issues, a group of Rheinmetall employees presented additional information about their new MBT, which (at the moment) is the only prototype undergoing a thorough testing program to verify its components.
Taking into account the trends in the development of MBT over the past decades, associated with an increase in weight, complexity and cost, as well as a sharp reduction in the number, at least in European armies, Rheinmetall engineers revised the concept of this type of military equipment and, allegedly, presented in the Panther their completely new look at the tank of the future.
Next, IVi plans to publish four articles that add a noticeable amount of information to the topic. This material concerns a general overview, the second article - lethality, the third - survivability and the last - controllability.
"Panther" KF51, rethinking the OBT
As stated in Berlin by Dr. Alexander Kuhrt, vice President for Next-generation MBT at Rheinmetall (Rheinmetall Landsysteme Next Generation Main Battle): "Lethality remains the raison d'etre of MBT, and the 120 mm smoothbore gun, including ammunition, has reached its limit, and due to increased protection in the newly developed Russian tanks had to make a new decision. The same is true with regard to security, especially now, when barrage ammunition (BB) dominates on the battlefield along with other means of attack from a dive, so it is necessary to rethink survivability."
Then A.Kurt drew attention to the fact that with the introduction of modern technologies, it is necessary to strengthen the role of tank reconnaissance, as shown by the Israeli experiment " Carmel" . The ability to manage is a problem that has appeared recently, since the network allows you to distribute all available information and data that is further improved with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) – designing the current AI-oriented system is mandatory for the full use of these new capabilities. Rheinmetall believes that it is possible to add additional combat value in this area compared to existing systems.
The events of February 24, 2022 have further increased attention to heavy formations and MBT, in particular. However, the development of the "Panther" KF51 began much earlier, between 2018 and 2019. The main design of weapons started even earlier, in 2016, and was conducted for peer-to-peer conflicts and to protect the Atlantic Alliance on its eastern flank. Despite the fact that the model is designed for new Cold War scenarios, Rheinmetall's MBT proposal can be improved for use in other scenarios, such as asymmetric conflicts.
130 mm gun OBT "Panther" KF51The electronic architecture of the Panther, created around a 130-mm cannon and designed to work in combined arms formations, according to the manufacturer, is capable of acting on the front line as a multi-domain protected node.
Cost has become another key design parameter. The company sought to provide its potential customers with an affordable solution, overcoming the tendency to increase costs.
"We have shifted auxiliary means, for example, air defense, potentially to unmanned ground vehicles, which will be part of the combined arms group. A modular design based on suspensions was also adopted, allowing, for example, to use a BB, possibly as an auxiliary tank not involved on the front line," A. Kurt explained. He also stressed the possibility of obtaining target designation from onboard micro-drones designed to strengthen the conduct of short-range reconnaissance.
Chassis from "Leopard 2"The Panther KF51 uses the undercarriage of the Leopard 2, the power unit and part of the hull structure.
It is believed that "this deliberate decision" will provide an easy migration path for all current Leopard users who will benefit from the availability of spare parts on the market. [...]
"The chassis, which is basically a mechanical design element, has been improved and optimized for 40 years, and given that we managed to reduce the weight to the level of the A5 version, we believe that both the chassis and the power unit will be enough for the next 20-40 years."The figures presented indicate a combat weight of less than 59 tons, a range of more than 500 km, a maximum forward speed of 70 km/h and a backward speed of 30 km/h, as well as acceleration that accelerates the Panther from 0 to 40 km/h in 8 seconds.
With regard to overcoming obstacles, the "Panther" KF51 is able to cope with a rise of 60% and a lateral slope of 30%, overcome a trench 2.5 m wide, an escarpment 1.1 m high and an unprepared ford 1.2 m deep. By its dimensions, the KF51 is suitable for the tunnel profile in accordance with the AmovP-4l standards contained in the NATO document on the technical aspects of the transportation of military materials by rail.
Front-facing all-round cameraThe 23-inch main screen present in the crew member's seat description is directly connected to the 360° front-facing camera, which is why it is known as the ‘virtual windshield’.
It can receive images from other sensors, such as the commander's and gunner's sights. There is a "picture in picture" function. It can also be used to plan or monitor actions by invoking the combat management system layer. Two 10-inch screens under the main one allow you to have three different views in front of each crew member at any time. In case of failure of the main display, they can also act as a backup. Two more horizontal screens are available, located at the same height as the main one, which reproduce the images created by the left and right 360-degree side cameras of the tower, providing increased awareness of the situation while remaining protected by armor.
Crew member's workplaceTheoretically, all crew members can play all roles on board.
The concept is that everything can be done from anywhere. Obviously, the driver's seat is designed for his role, however, if necessary, the commander and gunner have the opportunity to choose the driving mode and control the tank using their control knobs, and the driver, theoretically, can fire from a cannon, since the equipment of the seats of all crew members is very similar.
Although the main means of viewing are displays, Rheinmetall has given all crew members the opportunity to keep optical periscopes so that in the event of a complete power outage they can still monitor the environment. According to the company's representatives, the first reviews are quite positive, drivers never use the optical system, relying entirely on the virtual image displayed on the screen.
"For the Panther in its current form, we have chosen what we believe is a good combination of innovative and key technologies that are combined with proven and mature systems and capabilities that we already have in the company to make sure that we have a field system in a very short time that preserves at the same time, growth prospects for the next decades," said Dr. A. Kurt.
He also said that the company is negotiating with a number of countries to determine specific configurations of the Panther, "so the situation should become clearer in the coming months," adding that a potential launch customer "will be on this continent." Taking into account the numerous countries using Leopard 2, there is a way to modernize from Leopard to Panther, although the concern's goal is to produce new platforms. Rtheinmetall believes that the capacity of the promising market will be from 500 to 800 machines during 2035 and from 5000 to 8000 units after 2035. "We are quite confident in the near future, and this is supported by the research that independent agencies conduct on an annual basis on modernization and replacement programs in Europe," Kurt concluded.
To be continued…
According to the materials of the resource edrmagazine.eu
