The German concern Rheinmetall officially presented the new innovative tank “Panther KF51” at the exhibition “Eurosatory-2022”. This is stated in a press release from Rheinmetall. At the arms show in France, Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger introduced a tank that is considered the successor to the Leopard 2 tank.

The “Panther KF51” is the newest member of Rheinmetall’s family of armored combat vehicles. KF is an abbreviation for “Kettenfahrzeug”, which is its full name in translation “Panther Crawler Machine 51”. The KF51 is based on the Leopard 2 mobility concept with a weight of 59 tons. It is possible that the tank is part of the German-French program MGCS, aimed at replacing the “Leopard 2” and “Leclerc” tanks from 2035.

armament

The main armament of the KF51 is the 130 mm smoothbore gun. Additionally, additional weapons are available to provide intense firepower for long range and even multiple targets. The tank received a loading machine designed for 20 rounds of ammunition.

The gun can fire armor-piercing sub-caliber projectiles as well as programmable air-blast munitions. A 12.7 mm paired machine gun completes the gun. Various options for integrating remote-controlled combat modules provide flexibility in protection against drones.

A NATTER combat module with a 7.62 mm machine gun was placed in the tank turret. Integration of the HERO 120 barrage ammunition launcher into the turret is possible from the Rheinmetall UVision partner. This increases the KF51’s ability to hit targets out of sight.

Protection

The Panther KF51 has a fully integrated integrated protection concept that includes active, reactive and passive protection technologies. In addition, its digital architecture allows the integration of additional sensors to detect signatures of the launch of enemy shells. Thanks to its ability to detect launch sites, the KF51 can detect and neutralize threats at an early stage.

The tank received a system of protection against attacks from above and the ROSY system with smoke bombs by Rheinmetall. It is stated that the KF51, which is designed to operate in a tense electromagnetic environment, is completely protected from cyber threats.

To manage

The tank is designed for a crew of three: the commander and gunner in the tower, and the mechanical driver. In addition, there is an additional workspace for the operator of additional systems or the unit commander. KF51 variants with unmanned turrets or fully remote-controlled machines are also planned in the future.

Thanks to the panoramic optical sensor SEOSS2 and the main battle sight EMES, the commander and the gunner can observe and hit targets independently of each other, both during the day and at night. In addition, through the display in the combat compartment, the crew have a 360-degree 24-hour view around the car. Integrated aerial reconnaissance drones increase crew situational awareness. Source