History of tank development in South Korea

[Deus benedicat tibi 20]

From the beginning of the founding of the Republic of Korea, the history of tank development began largely with the help of the United States. This is because there was little industrial infrastructure in Korea to develop tanks at this time.

In 1949, with support from the US Army, the ROK Army introduced the M4A3E8 Sherman tank. However, after that, efforts were made to proceed with tank development in Korea.

From 1951 to 1958, the 90mm Type 61 anti-tank gun and 76mm Type 74 anti-tank gun were produced in cooperation with the United States, and from 1959 to 1963 the M48A3 Patron tank was produced under license.

In 1962, the Korea Tank Research Institute was established to secure technology and manpower for domestic tank development. In 1965, K1 type 88 tank development project was started, which is the first large tank developed in Korea.

In the 1980s, the K1A1 tank was developed based on the K1 tank development, and in the 1990s, the K2 Black Panther tank development began, and mass production began in 2013. The K2 Black Panther Tank is a state-of-the-art tank developed with domestic technology, and is equipped with a globally recognized high-efficiency electronic control system and firepower control system.

In this way, Korea initially introduced foreign tanks with support from the United States, but has continued to develop domestic tanks and has developed so far.

 

 

 

Chi-Ha tank of the Japanese army stationed in Korea at the time of liberation

 

 

 

M8


 

M36

 

M24

M4

 

 

Licensed M48

 

The M47 of the USFK provided free of charge to the Korean military due to maintenance cost issues

 

 

Improved versions of the Korean M48 upgraded to the M60 level

 

 

M48

 M48A1

 M48A2

M48A3

 M48A4

M48A5

E48 series

 

 

Prototype vehicle XK1 of the K1 tank, which was developed with technical support from the United States

 

 

Type 88 tank K-1 tank mass production began

 

 

Improved versions of the K1 tank that are improved with fire control system communication equipment and other incidental digitization and compensate for the shortcomings

 

K-1A1

 

K-1E1

 

K-1A2

 

 

 

 

 

 

T-62, T-72M1 donated by Israel during the Middle East War

 

 

T-80UK from Russia
Command vehicle with IRCM removed.

 

 

ROK Amrmy T-80U from Russia

 

South Korean Army T-80U with internal electronic equipment replaced with Western-style equipment and paint color changed

 

 

Shooting training in the early 2000s

 

 

ROK-US joint training

 

 

 

K2 Black Panther and T-80U

 

XK-2

 

Mass-produced K2 Black Panther Tank

 

 

 

K2 PL exported to Poland

 

 

K2 under cryogenic testing

 

 

 

K2 in Oman export specification

 

 

 

 

A scene in which the K2, tailored to the requirements of the Norwegian Army, competes with the German Leopard 2A7.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

summary

 

-1949: The ROK Army introduces the M4A3E8 Sherman tank with support from the US Army.

 

-1951-1958: South Korea produces 90mm Type 61 anti-tank guns and 76mm Type 74 anti-tank guns in cooperation with the United States.

 

-1959-1963: South Korea produces M48A3 Patron tanks under license.

 

-1962: The Korea Tank Research Institute is established to secure technology and manpower for domestic tank development.

 

-1965-1970: K1 type 88 tank development business begins, and the first large-scale tank developed in Korea is produced.

 

-1980s: Development of the K1 tank, based on which the K1A1 tank is developed.

 

-1990s: Starts development of the K2 Black Panther tank, mass production begins in 2013. The K2 Black Panther is a state-of-the-art tank developed with domestic technology, and is equipped with a globally recognized high-efficiency electronic control system and firepower control system.
In addition, from the late 1970s, development and production of the K1A1 tank, an upgraded version of the K1 tank, continued, improving the combat capability of the existing tank. Since then, while developing the K2 Black Panther tank, we are continuing technology development and production.

As such, Korea initially introduced foreign tanks through cooperation with the United States, but succeeded in developing and producing tanks in Korea based on domestic technology and manpower. Through this, the Republic of Korea has strengthened its national defense capability and achieved the development of the domestic military industry.

 

 

 

Thank you very much for watching. 

 

 

If the opportunity arises later, I will also introduce the weapons and technologies that South Korea received from Russia instead of loans after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

[Deus benedicat tibi 20]

In addition, Korea provided technical support to Turkey and had a great influence on the development of Altay Ana Muharebe Tankı.

 

However, Turkey does not yet have a 1500 horsepower engine due to various political issues.

 

However, Korea succeeded in localizing core parts with its own technology and developing a 1500 horsepower engine that meets ROC standards.

Export contracts for 1,500 horsepower automatic transmission are in progress with Korea's SNT Heavy Industries and Turkiye BMC.

 

 

 

[Deus benedicat tibi 20]

 

 

Just a note, during the early stages of the Korean War, the South Korean military did not have any tanks and only had 37mm anti-tank guns, which were operated by South Korean officers who had previously served in the Imperial Japanese Army. They had to fight against North Korean T-34/85 tanks with suicidal attacks in an unfavorable environment. However, in just 30 years, South Korea has made significant progress and has become the only country in human history to independently develop and advance its own tank technology. 

There are various opinions regarding the number of T-34/85 tanks operated by North Korea, with some suggesting they operated 150 tanks while others claim it was as many as 242 tanks supported by the Soviet Union. At the time of invasion, North Korea had around 90 tanks left in reserve or for defensive purposes, and they deployed the remaining 150 tanks. Stalin provided Kim Il-sung, the leader of North Korea at the time, with the latest combat vehicles rather than outdated ones.