The Paper's special contributor Lan Shunzheng
"Black Panther", reborn.
The Panther was the most famous medium tank in Nazi Germany of World War II, setting a record for the destruction of 28 Soviet T-34 tanks in 20 minutes with zero losses. A few days ago, at the European Sartori Defense Exhibition, the German Rheinmetall company launched its newly developed fourth-generation main battle tank - KF-51 "Panther", and the rebirth of the "Panther" caused heated discussion.
KF-51 Panther tank in testing.
"Black Panther" of light vehicle heavy artillery
The Panther tank weighs about 59 tons, which is lighter than the German Leopard 2 A7 (more than 70 tons) and the latest model of the US M1A2 tank (more than 70 tons), and in terms of power, it uses the same 1475 horsepower diesel engine as the Leopard 2 A7, so it has higher maneuverability in theory.
Although the Black Panther's body became lighter, the firepower became stronger. One of the biggest features of the tank is that it is equipped with a newly developed Rheinmetall NG130 130 mm smoothbore gun. The new 130 mm smoothbore gun has a 51 caliber tube, made of high-strength steel, chrome-plated inside, equipped with a vertical wedge bolt, electric shock firing device, the chamber volume has been increased, and larger shells can be fired for higher projectile velocity and armor piercing ability. According to the official account of Rheinmetall, this NG130 smoothbore gun has a chamber volume of 15 liters (9.8 liters for the old 120 mm smoothbore gun), and the design chamber pressure is 880 megapascals, which is more than 50% more efficient than the 120 mm gun, which will provide a longer range and can penetrate 900 to 1000 mm thick homogeneous steel plates 2000 meters away.
The Panther tank was one of the best medium tanks of world war II.
To unleash the full power of this new weapon, Rheinmetall is developing a new 130mm tail stabilized shell piercing shell (APFSDS), which should be made of a new tungsten alloy, which is also equipped with a semi-combustible cartridge and a new propellant. The whole bomb weighs about 30 kg and has a length of 1.3 meters, and is scheduled to be officially produced around 2026 and equipped for use in the new tank. At the same time, Rheinmetall also intends to develop a new 130 mm high explosive air blasting (HE-AB) shell to replace the DM11HE-AB shell fired by Rheinmetall's 120 mm L44 and L55 tank guns. Representatives of the company have previously said that this new gun will be able to destroy the Russian T-14 Armata main battle tank and the T-15 heavy infantry fighting vehicle. At the same time, the gun was equipped with a tail-compartment automatic loader, and the number of crews was reduced to 3 people, but a space was reserved for a fourth person, which could be used by weapons and subsystem experts or commanders.
In addition to the increase in the caliber of the gun, the "Black Panther" also installed a 4-piece Hero-120 cruise missile launcher in the tail compartment of the turret, the Hero-120 cruise missile is a product of the Israeli UVision company, the maximum combat radius can reach 60 kilometers, the effective endurance time is 1 hour, this cruise missile also has a 4.5 kg warhead, which can provide reconnaissance intelligence and surveillance information for the tank, and can also directly launch a suicide strike on the target. The launcher may also be able to launch light anti-aircraft missiles in response to threats from the air. The tank turret is equipped with a small rotorcraft on the right side behind the turret, which can also help improve the tank's situational awareness of the surrounding battlefield environment. Other Black Panther weapons include a 12.7 mm coaxial machine gun and an optional Natter weapons remote control station (a 7.62 mm machine gun built in and corresponding photoelectric detection equipment).
In terms of protection, the German side said that the tank has a built-in protective system that integrates passive, active and offensive protection. Among them, the StrikeShield active protection system will be used to defend against threats such as anti-tank weapons and suicide drones. Originally known as the APS-Gen3, StrikeShield is the third generation of active protection systems made by Rheinmetall. Like DARPA's Iron Curtain project, StrikeShield has adopted a "distributed" approach, no longer concentrating interceptors on top of turrets, but arranging them around the hull. After detecting an incoming missile, the system detonates an interceptor to destroy the missile in the instant before it hits the tank. Due to the extreme proximity to the tank and the use of non-concentrated charge, the interceptor was able to protect the tank while effectively destroying the missile.
German-equipped Leopard 2 tank.
In addition, StrikeShield's interceptor does not use the traditional outward firing method, but is almost vertically fired downwards, so that most of the shock wave and shrapnel generated by its explosion are absorbed by the ground, minimizing its damage to civilians and friendly forces. While this extremely close-range hard-kill interception is still highly dangerous for unprotected personnel, it is still far better than the traditional method of intercepting distance and direction that is completely random and the range of secondary damage is uncontrollable. The Current StrikeShield is the first of its kind to pass a rigorous independent safety assessment, which the German side believes will help alleviate the concerns of potential customers and significantly improve the confidence of armored combat vehicle operators and command and control agencies in the safe use of active defense systems in complex environments.
In addition, "Black Panther" will also provide digital network functions for vehicle crew personnel in order to improve operational efficiency; Each crew member can recall data from all sensors, weapons, power packs, and other subsystems as needed. The German side said that because each crew member can take over the tasks of other members, the tank can also be equipped with unmanned turrets in the future, and even a fully unmanned version may appear.
The KF-51 Panther is equipped with a cruise missile and has a stronger long-range strike capability.
Challenger of the MGCS project
Some analysts believe that the debut of the "Black Panther" in France is likely to have an impact on the future of French and German tank troops. Since 2012, France and Germany have been cooperating in the development of a future ground combat system (MGCS), which is designed to replace the French Army's active Leclerc tank and germany's Leopard 2 tank. At the Sartori Defense Exhibition in Europe on June 11, 2018, France and Germany jointly launched a demonstration model of a new main battle tank consisting of the Leclerc turret and the Leopard 2 chassis.
At present, the MGCS project team has proposed four platform solutions:
The first option would be a single tracked vehicle with a large-caliber external gun, possibly using Rheinmetall's 130 mm smoothbore gun, or possibly the 140 mm Future Tank Main Weapon System (FTMA), which was initially developed in collaboration with France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. In the scheme, the crew of the MGCS will be located in a guarded crew armor compartment, similar to the Russian T-14 tank, which will feature an advanced propulsion system and possibly a hybrid drive system of diesel and electric motors.
The purpose of the MGCS project is to replace the French Army's active Leclerc tank and germany's Leopard 2 tank.
The second option also uses single tracked vehicles, but the main weapon system uses not conventional artillery, but others, such as laser systems, missile launchers and other advanced weapons.
The third option is multi-platform wheeled vehicles (perhaps 8×8), which have both manned and unmanned platforms with different sensors and weapon systems.
The fourth option is also a multi-platform wheeled vehicle (also possible 8×8), the platform is also available in both manned and unmanned configurations, using cluster technology and the "guide-follower" concept.
The MGCS project is jointly led by The French company Nectar Nexta and the German company Klaus Muffy Weigmann, and although Rheinmetall is also involved, German media reports indicate that the company is not satisfied with its position in the MGCS program. It has been pointed out that the KF-51 "Black Panther" is likely to be Rheinmetall's response to the MCC project's dissatisfaction. Because according to the plan, even if everything goes well, the new MGCS tank will be mass-produced by 2035, and the security situation in Eastern Europe is getting worse due to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, and some countries are worried that tank wars will break out on European soil in the near future. If Rheinmetall can bring a mature product comparable to MGCS to the market in a short period of time, it will undoubtedly have great attraction at home or abroad, and it will also pose a big challenge for MGCS.
(The author is a special researcher of Yuanwang Think Tank, a researcher of Chahar Society)
Editor-in-Charge: Xie Ruiqiang
Proofreader: Ding Xiao