K2 Black Panther

The K2 Black Panther (Hangul: K2 '흑표'; Hanja: K2 '黒豹') is a South Korean main battle tank that will replace most of the M48 Patton III tanks and complement the K1 series of main battle tanks currently fielded by the Republic of Korea. Mass production commenced in 2013 and the first K2s were deployed with the armed forces in June 2014. The K2 costs over US$8.5 million per unit.

Variants

 * XK2 MTR (Mobility Test Rig): Experimental model for mobility tests, with main gun and electronic equipment removed from the turret. Only one was produced.
 * XK2 FTR (Firepower Test Rig): Experimental model for fire control, combat control, and low temperature operation tests. Like the MTR model, only one was produced.
 * XK2 PV (Pilot Vehicle): Experimental model for the technical demonstration test of three XK2s, these vehicles were also called Pilot Vehicles and numbered PV1 through PV3. The main test objectives of these models were endurance tests, developer tests, operator tests, and integrated logistics support tests.
 * XK2: As the last prototype model developed based on the XK2 PV released on March 2nd 2007, the development was officially completed in September 2008 after the operational test of the Republic of Korea Army.
 * K2: First production variant. 316 units planned to be built starting in 2013.
 * K2 PIP: Upgrading the semi-active in-arm suspension unit (ISU) to an active in-arm suspension unit, integration of a high-resolution terrain-scanning system to the vehicle's suspension system. This allow the vehicle to scanning nearby terrain up to 50 meters away in all directions and calculate the optimal position of the enemy in order to improve vehicle handling over rough terrain. The improvement also might include hard-kill anti-missile system and non-explosive reactive armour (NERA)
 * Altay: A variant of the K2 developed by Hyundai and Otokar for the Turkish Armed Forces.
 * K2M (Middle): Proposed licensed version of K2 for export to middle eastern countries. It has an upgraded armor package and seven road wheels, but unlike the K2, it lacks a Laser Warning Receiver (LWR) on the front of the turret.
 * K2NO: Proposed variant for the Royal Norwegian Army.
 * K2PL: Proposed licensed version for the Polish Armed Forces.
 * K2 ARV (Armored Recovery Vehicle): Armored recovery vehicle based on the chassis of the K2 with seven road wheels.
 * K2 CEV (Combat Engineer Vehicle): Combat engineer vehicle based on the chassis of the K2 with seven road wheels.

Users

 * Republic of Korea
 * Republic of Korea Army x 260+
 * Poland
 * Polish Army x 0 (180 K2 and 820 K2PL on order)
 * Romania
 * Romanian Land Forces x 0 (300 K2 on order)

Related Development

 * K1-88 Tank
 * Altay tank

Comparable Tanks

 * M1 Abrams
 * FV4034 Challenger 2
 * AMX Leclerc
 * Krauss-Maffei Leopard 2
 * Krauss-Maffei Leopard 2E
 * Stridsvagn 122
 * T-90M/MS
 * Type 10 Hitomaru