KF51 Panther

Germany

KF51 Panther

KF51 Panther

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 calibre main gun.[4] On 5 December 2022, Rheinmetall announced its plans to target mostly existing Leopard 2 operators with the KF51

Rheinmetall began the development of major subsystems related to the Panther in 2016, with system-level design commencing in 2018. The Panther has been developed as a private venture by Rheinmetall to demonstrate by 2026[4] the potential for increasing the lethality, mobility, survivability, and networking capabilities of MBTs without incurring a significant increase in weight. To reduce the weight of the Leopard 2A4 platform on which the development vehicle is based, Rheinmetall prioritised active over passive protection.[4]

Further developments under consideration for the vehicle including measures to make it more environmentally friendly during peacetime operations, the installation of a more powerful and more efficient powerpack, the integration of AI into the fire control system to enable automated target detection and identification, mounting an unmanned turret on the vehicle, and the creation of an unmanned version of the Panther. Efforts to make the vehicle more environmentally friendly could result in an alternative hull being developed for the Panther.

See it in action

Rheinmetall KF51 Panther

KF51 Panther


The KF51 is based on the hull of the Leopard 2A4


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