Although world has seen many battles. History shows us that some battles were decisive and some were Stalemate and bloody. But Battle of Flers-Courcelette has unique record. In Battle of Flers-Courcelette British army introduced and deployed Tanks (Mark 1) as main weapon against German forces. Later on the lethality,effectiveness, mobility and advantages made battle tanks as backbone weapon in the conventional armies. But with advancement of technology like introduction of anti-tank missiles, Combat drones and powerful IEDS made tanks vulnerable during battles. Efforts have been made by various countries in order to make tanks more deadly and lethal. Rheinmetall which is German arms manufacturing company is developing highly advanced, lethal and state of the art main battle tank named as KF51 PANTHER.KF is abbreviation of German word Kettenfahrzeug which means tracked vehicle and Panther is fierce and aggressive animal from family of big cats like Leopards and Jaguars. Panther has dark brown colours which give him ability of camouflage in forests
Public Revelation of Rheinmetall KF51 Panther
Rheinmetall KF51 Panther was first revealed in public at Eurosatory defense exhibition on 13 June 2022.Rheinmetall have stated that before starting full scale production the company will build a demonstrator vehicle as first step of production.
Design concept of Rheinmetall KF51 Panther
Rheinmetall KF51 Panther will be main battle tank for Germany and Nato Allies because of its highly sophisticated technology. Rheinmetall firm has designed KF51 Panther with next generation technological equipment.KF51 Panther is fully integrated with NGA which is (Nato Generic Vehicle Architecture).KF51 Panther has highly advanced electronic systems like MRCWS which is multiple remote controlled weapon system ,highly sophisticated cameras for commander. TOPS which is top attack protection system, Rheinmetall KF 51 panther modern main battle tank is equipped with latest sensor based reactive system .The KF-51 tank has Pre shot detection capability with advanced laser range finder and multi-faceted camera systems.
Main Features of Rheinmetall KF51 Panther
Armaments:
Rheinmetall Rh-130 deadly 130mm future gun system FGS
Rheinmetall KF51 Panther MBT has installed Rh-130 130mm gun which has tremendous firepower. Long range firing capability has been achieved by KF51 Panther because it uses upgraded version. The previous version was 120 mm.The RH-130 has ability to fire programmable airbursts explosions and APFSDS which is (Armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot).Now with new 130mm gun the KF51 Panther has ability to penetrate steel up to 1000mm.So with enhanced version of gun velocity of projectiles also increased which gives KF 51 Panther an ability to penetrate adversary’s active protection system. The assumed combat range is almost 3.5 kilometers.
12.7 mm coaxial machine gun
Besides Rheinmetall Rh-130, Rheinmetall KF51 Panther has 12.7mm coaxial gun which gives mid-range and close range support to crew. The coaxial machine gun has ready 250 rounds .It can be access externally.
Active Protection System of KF51 Panther
In order to protect tank from man portable anti-tank guided missiles, Rocket launchers and stingers most countries are developing active protection system for their tanks. Most notable active protection systems are Russian Afghanit arena active protection system designed for Armata Tank and Trophy active system designed by Rafael for merkava Israeli tanks. For KF51 Panther MBT Rheinmetall has developed its own advanced active protection system named as Strike shield active protection system. The system is comprises of different types of sensors. The pre shot detection capability enables KF51 Panther to detect and neutralizes targets in very early stages. Strike shield active protection system operates on principle of Opto-Electronically diractable energetic charges with low volume expansion. This system is fantastic combination of hard kill and soft kill technologies. Strike shield active protection system neutralizes and destroy incoming projectiles before they hit platforms. Infrared Jammers ,laser Imitators are used in soft kill technology. Hard kill technology uses mortars as interceptors to neutralize target by exploding in nearby radius of hostile projectors.
Natter RCWS (remotely controlled weapon systems)
Rheinmetall has designed state of the art Natter RCWS (remotely controlled weapon systems) for KF51 Panther MBT.The system is very effective and lethal against low flying drones. Natter system is consist of 7.62 mm coaxial gun integrated with highly advanced flex eye system. The flex eye system is combination of day and night vision sensor technology that has ability to display multiple targets on monitor screen simultaneously. A powerful tracker is added in system in order to track path of hostile targets Vision sensor technology is integration by two colour cameras with one infrared camera. A powerful laser range finder is also main part of Natter RCWS .Laser range finder easily find range and distance of hostile targets. The monitor has infrared touch screen and has ability to operate in night time. A joystick with Ergonomic design is used to control weapon system. The joystick is both left and right hands operable. Rheinmetall Natter system is designed on basis of modular concept. The modular concept has ability to integrate different kits for holding ammunition in caliber ranging from 5.56 x 45 mm to 7.62 x 51 mm.
The Natter system is mounted with carbon based technology which has efficient mechanical abilities. Due to carbon based technology Natter system has significant low weight and it also gives reduction in vibration. Natter RCWS has ability of vertical elevation and have high angular precision.
Hero 120 Loitering munitions of KF51 Panther:
Nowadays Loitering munitions are consider as most deadly and lethal weapon in battles. Loitering munitions played a significant role in Russia-Ukraine war. Both sides used loitering munitions as lethal weapon against each other. Loitering munitions are equipped with Infra-red camera which provides clear visibility of target and can be controlled remotely by communication system in real time scenario.Loietring munitions flies and hovers over target and strike on target with accuracy and precision. Rheinmetall has installed quad launcher on turret of KF51 Panther for Hero 120 loitering munitions. Developed by Israel drones manufacturing company Uvision Hero 120 loitering munition is combination of anti-tank guided missile and a drone. Hero 120 loitering munition can do surveillance and reconnaissance mission with ability to strike on target. Hero 120 loitering munition is very effective against moving targets like infantry fighting vehicles, tanks and transport vehicles, and can be used against enemy fortified positions and against air defense systems.
With electro optic and infrared camera Hero 120 allows operator to locate identify, locate and track target it gives operator the options of choosing appropriate time, angle and direction. The operator can abort the mission and call back Hero 120 loitering munition. The operator can re-engage target and can choose some another target. Total endurance of Hero 120 loitering munition is above 60 minutes and it has ability to carry warhead of 4.5kg.Total range of Hero 120 loitering munition is above 60km.Beside loitering munition Hero 120 KF51 Panther can also launch two small mini drones for surveillance and reconnaissance
ROSY smoke obscurance system
Rheinmetall has developed highly advanced ROSY (Rapid smoke obscurance system) for KF51 Panther. The Rosy smoke osbcurance system helps to protect KF51 Panther from sudden ambush and aerial attacks. ROSY smoke obscurance system creates a thick dense smoke wall around platform .The system gives multi spectral high protection against Infra-red and guided munition and highly effective against electro optical and laser weapons. The ROSY smoke obscurance system gives 360 degree protection to Panther and its crew by launching smoke grenades. Rosy smoke obscurance system can be installed easily with one click adapter. Through one click adapter the system can be quickly fitted into Tank. There are 1 to 4 launchers for system and can fire 40mm ammunition. The general ammunition of Rosy obscurance system is Multispectral smoke (red phosphorus) are Tear gas, Flash-Bang and test modules.
TAPS (Top Attack Protection System)
Though Rheinmetall didn’t provide much detail about Top Attack protection system. The company will likely to equip KF51 Panther with laser beams or grenade launchers .TAPS can also include clouds of multi spectral smoke layer in order to protect Panther from aerial attacks.
Crew capacity of KF51 Panther MBT
Rheinmetall has designed the total number of four workstation for crew inside KF51 Panther. An additional workstation is allocated in chassis along with workstation of driver .The additional slot is dedicated for either battalion commander or drone operator. Two workstations in turret are located for commander and Gunner.
Autoloader for KF51 Panther Tank
Rheinmetall has developed fully automatic handling system for KF51 Panther. The autoloader for KF51 Panther tank and has capability of hosting 20 rounds. The ammunition feed is available at rear of tank. Autoloader has unloading and restocking capability.
Mobility
The net weight of Rheinmetall KF51 Panther Tank is 59 tons with maximum range of almost 500km.The tank has maximum speed of almost 65km/hours.
Integration with unmanned aerial vehicles.
Rheinmetall KF51 Panther Tank can integrate with variety of unmanned aerial and ground vehicles. Rheinmetall KF51 has state of the art BMS and software defined communication systems. Rheinmetall have indicated that KF51 panther will be equipped with artificial intelligence elements in future.
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