Rheinmetall’s KF51 Panther Germany Tank
The newest tank made in Germany, namely KF51, has the designation Panther which is equipped with various advanced tank technologies with a bigger and deadlier main weapon. This tank has a sophisticated computer system and also has extraordinary defense capabilities that are capable of being immune from the United States’ advanced Javelin missiles and NLAW missiles.
KF51 Panther is a production of Rheinmetall, a weapons production company originating from Germany. This new tank has been exhibited at the French Eurosatory and received great acclaim from other arms manufacturers.
The name Panther is no stranger to German tanks, in 1942 when the war against Russia, Panzerkampfwagen 5 is also known as the Panther which is also very reliable in battle. However, this tank had a few problems with its mechanical system when it served in the Battle of Kursk in 1943.
The KF51 is the newest successor to the Leopard 2 tank, the Leopard 2 has shown its ability in combat operations since the 1980s which has been widely used in armies in various countries. Leopard 2 has indeed been upgraded several times to its newest version, namely 2A7 belonging to the German army. But this method is not ineffective if you continue to use it on old tanks. Therefore, Germany designed a completely new tank with a modern system through the KF51 panther.
Design-wise, the Panther tank still uses the basic Leopard 2 hull design, although its hull shape suggests newer and thicker armor along the front and sides. The Panther retains the Leopard 2 outline above the engine compartment, but with a prominent bulge. However, from the engine side, the Panther reportedly still has an engine, with the same amount of power as the Leopard 2, namely 1,100 kilowatts/1,500 horsepower.
The KF51 Panther was the first production tank to be equipped with a 130mm main gun. Guns like this were used on NATO tanks—particularly the United States, Germany, and France—during the Cold War era with Russia in the 1990s.
The Panther Tank’s turret was designed to be larger with sharper angles and a much larger overhang over the engine compartment to accommodate the larger and heavier main gun ammunition as a counterweight to the new 130mm main gun.
The new gun, named the Future Gun System (FGS), is largely a response to Russia’s new T-14 Armata tank. Rheinmetall claims the FGS has a “50 percent longer kill range” than 120-millimeter guns. According to Europäische Sicherheit & Technik, the new gun was a 130 millimeter/L52 gun, meaning that its barrel length was 52 times its diameter. It measures 6,760 millimeters, or 22.1 feet, in length. The barrel also features a futuristic-looking casing, but it’s unclear how this contributes to the tank’s efficiency or effectiveness.