Europe arms: The Russian attack on Ukraine heralded a turning point, many EU members – especially Germany with a special fund of 100 billion for the Bundeswehr – want to arm themselves en masse. The German armament group Rheinmetall is now offering governments willing to rearm a new main battle tank intended to inherit the export hit Leopard-2 and surpass Putin’s most powerful tank, the T-14 Armata: the KF51 Panther.
Rheinmetall presented the KF51 Panther main battle tank at the Eurosatory arms fair in Paris – and filled the tracked vehicle with high-tech. The new tank is fully digitized, laced with sensors and equipped with active and passive security technologies intended to stop attacks from above that tank crews fear, for example. A smoke thrower for the retreat is also integrated.
Larger caliber than Putin’s T-14 Armata
The KF51 Panther’s main weapon is a massive 130mm gun, which has a much higher penetration power and 50 percent longer range than the 120mm smoothbore gun from the export hit Leopard 2 and could penetrate almost any armor. In comparison, Putin’s T-14 Armata “supertank” (see link box), unveiled in 2015, but not yet mass-produced, has a 125mm gun.
As is already common practice with Russian tanks, the new Panther will also use an automatic reloading system: the Panther would have an autonomous gun turret requiring no crew.
Panther can also launch kamikaze drones
In addition to the 130mm gun, the Panther has a 12.7mm machine gun. Optionally, he carries HERO 120 Kamikaze (“Loitering Ammunition”) drones, which attack targets out of sight of the three-man tank crew. Accompanying reconnaissance drones will also be launched from the Panther.
Franco-German supertank only in 2040
The timing of the Panther’s unveiling is a coup for Rheinmetall, analyzes the TV channel NTV. Germany is currently developing a new “supertank” called MGCS together with France. Rheinmetall is on board with this project, but Krauss-Maffei-Wegmann (KMW) and the French weapons group Nexter are in charge here. However, the project is experiencing delays, the MGCS will not be delivered until 2040.
Rheinmetall’s self-developed KF51 Panther should be available much sooner – and could be just the right time for EU countries looking to modernize their tank fleets. The Rheinmetall stand at the Eurosatory in France is expected to be well attended: “We expect a lot of international attention for this new top product of German army technology”, says Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger.
Already first interested in Eastern Europe
In fact, the first customers are already queuing up: Immediately after the unveiling of the high-tech war machine, the first countries from Eastern Europe have expressed an interest in buying, reports NTV. Rheinmetall also hopes for the German Bundeswehr as reference customers.
Name historically loaded for some observers
The name Panther is not undisputed politically, after all, the German Wehrmacht had developed a tank with the same name in World War II as an opponent of the Russian T-34. About 6,000 of the Panzerkampfwagen V Panther were built from 1943, but the Panther developed under time pressure suffered from technical defects.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
