Germany’s Latest and greatest Main Battle Tank, the Panther KF51, was unveiled at Eurosatory on June 13, 2022. designed to replace the Leopard 2, One of the most widely used MBTs in the world, it has high expectations to pass to replace the Leopard. Given its specifications, it might become the Leopard’s successor. So, let’s look at it and see what it can do.
The Panther KF51 is the newest tank developed by Rheinmetall, Germany’s largest arms maker and one of the largest in the world. It was initially unveiled at the Eurosatory 2022, the largest arms showcase in the world. Later, in 2022, Rheinmetall announced its intention to work with Leopard 2 operators to replace their Leopards with Panthers.
The Panther is an MBT, or Main Battle Tank, designed to combat other tanks and support infantry. A driver, a gunner, and a commander crew it. It has multiple weapons systems to help fulfill its role as an MBT, including the main gun, machine guns, and other weapons. The primary weapon of the Panther is the 130mm L52 FGS (Future Gun System), a weapon that promises a 50% greater “Kill range” over the Leopard 2’s 120mm L55 gun. The 12.7mm coaxial (mounted parallel to) machine gun is mounted next to the main gun to increase the tank’s firepower further. There is a second machine gun, a 7.62mm, mounted on a Remote Controlled Weapon Station (RCWS), that can either be used by the crew of the Panther or used to defend against drones. While it can protect against drones, it also has drones, coming in the form of the HERO 120 Loitering Munitions, giving the tank an edge in combat.
While the Panther can certainly fight tanks, it needs armor and protection to be able to take a hit, and it certainly has armor. It comes with three types of protection: passive or standard armor, active, meaning it can destroy some things shot at it, and reactive or destruction of some types of shells as they hit the armor, like HEAT or High Explosive Anti-Tank. In terms of passive armor, we sadly do not know what it will have, but we do know that it’ll likely be some form of advanced composite armor, possibly thinner than the Leopard 2’s because of the rest of the protection system compensating. For active, we know that the Panther will come equipped with the StrikeShield Active Protection System, built by Rheinmetall, which claims that StrikeShield can destroy some Kinetic Energy (KE) weapons and some guided missiles. Another portion of the active protection system is the TAPS or Top Attack Protection System, which Rheinmetall uses to ensure that most or all of the tank is protected by an APS. On the reactive side, it uses an unknown reactive armor but claims to be sensor-triggered, so in case the Panther gets shot, it may be able to act as further protection against fire on top of the APS.
Of course, while it has all these things, it can’t move without an engine and some other stuff, which it has. It comes equipped with the MTU MB 873 Ka-501 V-12 water-cooled diesel engine, which outputs a whopping 1,500 horsepower. Combined with the Panther’s weight of less than 59 tons, this allows it to have greater mobility than the Leopard 2 and longer range, with the Panther achieving over 300 miles of range.
Overall, the Panther KF51 is much more advanced than the Leopard 2, which it’s designed to replace. It hopes to become the successor to the illustrious history of the Leopards. Rheinmetall appears to have secured its future as well, having secured contracts with several European nations, including Italy and Hungary.
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https://euro-sd.com/2024/07/news/land/39109/rheinmetall-unveils-cut-2/
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