After over 40 years, Germany is finally bringing more firepower to its tanks program.
In 2022, Rheinmetall Defense unveiled its bold new creation: the Kettenfahrzeug 51,
a lightweight tank expected to set new standards in lethality, survivability, and mobility.
Also known as the Panther, the main battle tank is bristling with all the most up-to-date
technology in the market, including a much larger main gun, a digital computer backbone,
and a state-of-the-art suite of defensive features.
After stunning more than one at a military hardware show in Europe's Eurosatory defense
exhibit, the tank prompted much speculation and controversy, leaving many to wonder if
it will replace Germany's current tank arsenal, if it will be used only for exports, or even
if such a tank is needed at all in today’s world…
A Surprise Appearance
It's rare when a new tank, tracks and all, appears on the warfare market.
As such, when Germany announced the creation of a new main battle tank for the first time
in over four decades, the crowd at France's Eurosatory arms show went wild.
During the June 2022 event, a biennial showcase for Europe's arms manufacturers to promote
and announce their latest technology equipment, Germany-based Rheinmetall showed off a prototype
of its newest creation: the KF51 Panther.
The name is reminiscent of the elusive Panzerkampfwagen V, designed in 1942 and used to counter Russian
vehicles like the T-34 in the Eastern and Western Fronts from 1943 to the war's end.
Some of the medium tank's most significant feats took place in battles such as the Normandy
landings and the Battle of the Bulge.
Despite being one of the most effective German tanks at the time, the Panther was severely
hobbled by mechanical and reliability issues.
Rheinmetall's KF51, however, is the successor to the Leopard 2, a 1980s contemporary American
M1 Abrams tank vehicle.
Despite making its debut 40 years ago, the model remains in service with more than a
dozen armies worldwide and is constantly being upgraded.
But like many modified systems, there comes a point when it becomes impractical and exceedingly
expensive to keep adding new technology.
The only way to move forward is to design something new, and according to Rheinmetall,
the KF51 is here to make the transition as smooth as possible.
The German Panther
In a hype video for the new tank, Rheinmetall calls the Panther an apex predator and the
future of so-called ‘tanknology’ itself.
Featuring a gray, black, and neon yellow camouflage pattern, the KF51 Panther is a radically new
Main Battle Tank technology-forward concept.
According to Rheinmetall's official website, the Panther tank was designed from scratch
to deliver the highest lethality on the battlefield, drawing on some of the world's latest technology,
The vehicle is being built to be a fully digitized system meant to control assigned unmanned
aerial vehicles such as drones, loitering ammunition, and a wide range of uncrewed ground
vehicles.
One of the most interesting features about it is that it weighs just 59 tons, a relatively
slight tonnage by modern standards.
In contrast, the American M1 Abrams weighs 73.6 tons without all the more prominent features
like guns and munitions.
The company adds that the new features will make an agile, maneuverable, and sprightly
tank.
In addition, the tank's engine will be the same 1,475-horsepower diesel engine that the
Leopard 2 uses, giving the Panther a range of 310 miles and a rumored maximum speed of
40 miles per hour.
Weapons!
While the Panther's chassis draws on components of the Leopard 2's hull, the turret and state-of-the-art
defense systems are entirely new.
Meanwhile, the tank's main armament is the company's own 130-millimeter cannon.
Designed for the Main Ground Combat System program's Future Gun System, the cannon is
automatically loaded from two revolver-type magazines, with ten rounds each.
The company claims that this weapon has an unrivaled rate of fire because of the programmable
airburst ammunition, which can also fire kinetic energy rounds.
The weapon is also complemented by a 12.7-millimeter coaxial machine gun, a stark contrast to the
7.62-millimeter coaxial one that equips almost all main battle tanks today.
And Rheinmetall's own 7.62-millimeter Remotely Controlled Weapon Station, known as Natter,
is positioned at the rear of the turret roof.
All weapons are controlled electronically, and laser rangefinders give the Panther hunter-killer
capabilities.
Plus, the Panther tank has a three-layer self-protection system to protect crews on the battlefield.
First, there is an active layer to protect it from anti-tank missiles and other kinetic
energy-related threats; second, a reactive layer to neutralize double-shaped charge rounds
that may still get through; and finally, a passive layer of steel composite armor to
stop any remaining elements.
Well-Oiled Machine
The Panther tank was designed to be operated by a three-person crew, with the pilot positioned
in the chassis and the commander and the gunner in the turret.
All the team members can handle the sensors and weapons as each operator station can assume
the tasks and roles of others while retaining full functionality.
And if needed, additional space in the chassis can work as either a command post, or for
a drone operator or a wingman pilot.
Given that the turret and weapons can be controlled from the operator stations near the chassis,
it opens the opportunity for future Panther variants with unmanned turrets and perhaps
even a fully remote-controlled version.
The driver is provided with a hatch, and it appears as though the optional crew station
for the potential 4th crewmember can also be fitted with a hatch.
Even so, one potential downside of the Panther first noted on the Eurosatory demonstration
is that the driver and additional specialists have no convenient emergency exits.
Such a scenario could be affected by the sloped-turned turret armor that often overlaps the hatches,
creating a potentially severe survivability problem if the crew members are ever trapped
in a burning tank.
Revolutionary
According to Rheinmetall Defense, the Panther Kettenfahrzeug KF51 will be a game changer
on the battlefields of the future, and the new model will set new standards in lethality,
protection, reconnaissance, networking, and mobility.
Despite seemingly being built for an exact purpose or requirement, Jan-Phillipp Weisswange,
the company's assistant head of public relations, claims the Panther’s design came entirely
from Rheinmetall's pockets and not in response to a client's request.
The spokesperson confirmed that the vehicle is not a candidate for the Franco-German Main
Ground Combat System project, famously launched in 2012 to replace the Leopard 2 and Leclerc
main battle tanks, but instead has the export market in mind.
Looking at the market and those who use those two vehicles, potential buyers of the KF51
include Austria, Canada, Denmark, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland,
Portugal, Qatar, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, and Jordan, among others.
And yet, the Panther is only the beginning.
The Future
In the near future, the company also plans a family of complementary vehicles that will
push innovations that support environmentally friendly peacetime operations and further
optimization in automation and effectiveness.
The Panther is also expected to change as its development moves forwards, and company
directors want Rheinmetall and all logisticians and procurement professionals of future users
to have an active voice in shaping the future of the vehicle.
However, the tank has many doubters who question whether a new tank like this is even needed
in today’s environment.
And as impressive as it sounds and looks, it will undoubtedly be an expensive endeavor.
Even so, the KF51's new, innovative features and more powerful gun are beyond what the
West's current and dated crop of tanks can bring to a mid-21st-century battlefield.
Only time will tell the level of influence it will have on worldwide warfare technology.
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