Germany’s Renck Group announced on social media on October 23 that it has signed a contract with South Korea’s K2 “Black Panther” main battle tank (MBT) manufacturer Hyundai Rotem to provide 197 sets of powertrains from 2023 to 2025. Options for an additional 800 deliveries starting in 2026.
The new transmission has been specified for 180 MBTs worth up to $3.37 billion ordered by Poland on 26 August. Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the Central European countries in early July, South Korea will transfer technology for the licensed production of up to 820 upgraded K2 MBTs, designated K2PL in service with the Polish Armed Forces.
The first 10 K2 MBTs were officially handed over to Poland on October 19 at Hyundai Rotem’s Changwon manufacturing plant.
The German-made drivetrain was chosen because the Korean industry highlighted the maturity of the domestically produced system at the DX Korea 2022 show in September, which further questioned the maturity of the domestically produced drivetrain that SNT Dynamics is developing. AMR was told at the event that its 1,500-hp-class EST15K transmission system is in the final stages of development, with the goal of providing an integrated transmission for the third or fourth batch of K2 MBTs to be produced from 2023.
Despite the successful production of what is widely regarded as a world-class main battle tank using the K2 platform, South Korea has faced considerable technical challenges in the development of the tank’s power unit, including the engine and transmission, for at least 15 years.
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced in March 2011 that mass production of the K2 MBT for the Korean Army (RoKA) would be delayed due to suboptimal performance of the local powerplant then developed by Doosan Infracore (now Hyundai Doosan). Infracore) and SNT Dynamics. Therefore, the first production K2 MBTs were fitted with a Renk HSWL 295 transmission coupled to a German MTU MT883 Ka-500 V12 diesel engine as a stopgap.
Hyundai Rotem was able to equip the second batch of production tanks with the Hyundai Doosan Infracore DV27K engine, although SNT Dynamics was again unable to demonstrate the maturity of its EST15K transmission, and the final power unit for this production section will be a local DV27K engine with Renk’s HSWL 295 transmission. The second batch of K2 main battle tanks was delivered in 2019.
According to SNT Dynamics, the EST15K transmission has a dry weight of 2,500kg, has six forward and three reverse gears, supports engines rated between 1,500 and 1,650 hp, and has a maximum input speed range of 2,000 to 3,000 rpm. AMR has learned from the company that it aims to introduce the new transmission in the later stages of the third batch of K2 production runs, and entirely from the fourth batch of tanks, although this is ultimately up to DAPA to decide.
Repeated delays in the K2 MBT’s fully indigenous power group have become a concern for DAPA as the effort goes hand in hand with the broader need to reduce reliance on foreign components and systems for key military programs.
“Transmission is a key component [MBTs],” said former DAPA minister Wang Ronghong in 2020.
“If the domestically produced domestic gearbox can be realized on the K2 tank [enhance] Military operations as well as domestic revenue, job creation and future export opportunities,” Wang added.
by Jr Ng
