Other armored vehicles became interested in the idea. At a recent IDEX-2013 exhibition in Abu Dhabi, a similar Korean-Belgian joint project was demonstrated for the first time. The companies Doosan DST (South Korea) and CMI Defense (Belgium) together conducted a deep modernization of the Korean infantry fighting vehicle K21. After all the design work, this machine acquired almost all the properties of a modern main tank. The new tank has not yet received any name of its own. It is expected that the tank based on the BMP K21 will compete with the German Marder Medium MBT and some other machines of a similar class, but originally created as a tank. At the same time, the Korean medium tank can not cope with the task assigned to it. The fact is that the infantry fighting vehicle K21 was created only in the two thousand years and, as a result, did not have time to become popular and popular. Therefore, the modernization of the existing fleet of vehicles, as in the case of a tank based on the "Marder", is not out of the question.
An interesting fact is that after a deep modernization, the armored vehicle retained its original combat weight of 25 tons. Removing the old BMP turret with the 40-mm automatic cannon, the assault seats and a number of auxiliary systems from the structure allowed saving weight almost equal to the mass of the Cockerill XC-8 turret gun. Thanks to this, it was possible to preserve the original chassis design, including the chassis and powerplant. The K21-based tank, like the BMP itself, is equipped with a Doosan D2840LXE diesel engine with horsepower 750. Thus, the specific power of the tank is approximately equal to 28-30 HP per ton of weight, which even slightly exceeds the upper limit of the optimal value of this parameter. The chassis has six road wheels with hydropneumatic suspension on board, as well as driving and steering wheels. The engine compartment is located in the front of the armored hull.
It is alleged that, after being converted into a tank, the former infantry fighting vehicle retained the ability to swim. It should be recalled that the original K21 is capable of crossing water obstacles by swimming only after opening and filling special cylinders on the sides of the hull. In the stowed position, they are located under the machine bulwarks. This possibility of a new tank raises certain doubts. Rubber cylinders can be punched even from small weaponsThat pretty quickly send the car to the bottom. Obviously, her own buoyancy leaves much to be desired. In addition, with such characteristics, a tank in the water can only fire from machine guns, which significantly reduces its combat capabilities.
As can be judged by the appearance of the medium tanks presented, they retained most of the original booking of the K21 infantry fighting vehicle. This means that the new tank has a fourth-level protection in accordance with the STANAG 4569 standard and, thus, is protected from 14,5-mm armor-piercing bullets. At the same time, the frontal projection protection withstands hitting at least 30-mm projectiles of automatic guns. Perhaps the construction of an average tank based on the K21 provides for the installation of additional booking modules that increase the level of protection.
The main difference between the new medium tank and the K21 infantry fighting vehicle is the Cockerill XC-8 twin-gun turret. This combat module is interesting because it can be equipped with various target equipment and allows you to install different weapons. So, for the new Korean-Belgian medium tank, two versions of the main armament are offered. At the request of the customer on the tower can be mounted smooth-bore guns-launchers caliber 105 or 120 millimeters. These high-pressure barrel guns are designed to use all available ammunition that complies with NATO standards. Both guns are equipped with automatic loaders, which reduced the crew to three people. Interestingly, due to the relatively small dimensions of the 105-mm guns and a fairly spacious turret, it was possible to bring the maximum elevation angle to 42 °. For most modern tanks, this is too big a corner, but it will increase the combat effectiveness of armored vehicles in urban environments. In addition, when shooting with a maximum elevation, the maximum range of shooting is increased to ten kilometers. The 120-mm gun does not have this capability, but thanks to its caliber it provides firepower at the level of modern main tanks.
Engineers from CMI Defense have also included Falarick guided missiles, developed jointly with the Ukrainian design bureau “Luch”, into the nomenclature of the new tank ammunition. These missiles are launched directly from the launcher and significantly increase the combat potential of the tank. It is worth noting, Falarick missiles are available in two versions, for use with 105-mm and 120-mm guns. Thus, regardless of the type of main armament, the Korean-Belgian tank carries a certain number of guided missiles. The stated armor penetration characteristics (at least 550 millimeters behind dynamic protection) allow the former infantry combat vehicle to effectively deal with some tanks. Additional armament of the new tank, apparently, includes at least one machine gun paired with a cannon. On the prototypes shown, an anti-aircraft machine gun and smoke grenade launchers were absent. Probably, they can be installed at the request of the customer.
In general, the new medium-sized Korean-Beli development tank is quite interesting and will undoubtedly attract the attention of the military of some countries. At the same time, despite his "origin", he is unlikely to be able to compete with the German tank based on the BMP Marder. The reason for this is the novelty of the original infantry fighting vehicle. Not a single country has a sufficiently large fleet of such infantry fighting vehicles, and the existing machines have not yet become outdated. Therefore, no one will be able to contact the Doosan DST and CMI Defense companies with an order to upgrade obsolete machines with a change in their class. Due to the relatively high fire characteristics, the new medium tank is quite capable of becoming a kind of replacement for full-fledged main tanks, which has a markedly lower cost.
So far, both the Korean-Belgian nameless tank, and the German Marder Medium MBT are purely exhibition prototypes. Potential buyers get acquainted with them, study the appearance and possibilities, and feel free to praise. Moreover, to date, both tanks, with all their advantages, have not been the subject of even preliminary negotiations on a future contract. It is possible that the new return to the idea of a medium tank did not justify itself. But it cannot be excluded that a new serious trend is being born in tank building right now. Does it make sense to make from an infantry fighting vehicle an average mass tank with the main fire capabilities? Time and contracts will show.
On the materials of the sites:
http://army-guide.com/
http://globalsecurity.org/
http://janes.com/
http://armor.kiev.ua/
http://strangernn.livejournal.com/