Panther KF51

Panther KF51
Rheinmetall Panther KF51
TypeMain battle tank
Place of originGermany
Service history
In serviceNot yet in service
Production history
DesignerRheinmetall (Krauss-Maffei Wegmann)
DesignedCommenced 2016
Specifications (Hull)
Mass59 ton
Length7,8 m
 length10 m (with tank gun)
Width3.7 m
Height2.5 m
Crew3–4
  • Commander (turret)
  • Gunner (turret)
  • Driver (hull)
  • Additional crew member (hull)

Armourarmour plating (with spaced armour), reactive armour, active protection (StrikeShield)
Main
armament
Rh-130 L/52 130 mm smoothbore cannon (up to 20 rounds)[1]
Secondary
armament
12.7 mm coaxial machine gun (250 rounds), 7.62 mm 'Natter' RCWS (2,500 rounds)[1]
EngineMTU MB 873 Ka-501 V-12 water-cooled diesel
1 500 hp
Power/weight25 hp/t
TransmissionRenk HSWL 354
SuspensionTorsion bar
Fuel capacity1,100 L (242 imp gal; 291 US gal)

The Panther KF51 (KF is short for German "Kettenfahrzeug" lit.'tracked vehicle') is a German main battle tank (MBT) that is under development by Rheinmetall Landsysteme (part of Rheinmetall's Vehicle Systems division). It was unveiled publicly at the Eurosatory defence exhibition on 13 June 2022.[2][3]

The KF51 is based on the hull of the Leopard 2A4,[4] but with a new turret mounting an autoloaded 130 mm main gun.[4] On 5 December 2022, Rheinmetall announced its plans to target mostly existing Leopard 2 operators with the KF51.[5]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Panther KF51 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Foss, Christopher (13 June 2022). "Eurosatory 2022: Panther KF51 prowls into Paris". Shephard Media. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  3. ^ "A new tank for a new era" (Press release). Rheinmetall. 13 June 2022.
  4. ^ a b "KF51 Panther". Janes. 20 July 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022.(subscription required)
  5. ^ Fiorenza, Nicholas (13 December 2022). "Rheinmetall identifies markets for KF51 Panther tank". Janes.com.

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