[Yang Nak-gyu's Defense Club] K2 Tank to Be Equipped with 'Domestic Heart'

The photo shows the XK2, the development stage of the K2 tank 'Heukpyo'.

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu Reporter] The powerpack of the Army's next-generation main weapon, the K2 Heukpyo tank, will be fully domestically produced. While the engine, which is part of the powerpack consisting of the engine and transmission, has been domestically produced, the transmission has still been imported from Germany.

On the 16th, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced, "To domestically produce the transmission, the final stage of K2 tank localization, we have completed the work to specify the previously criticized and controversial defense standards and inspection methods, which were considered too vague."

The two revised and supplemented clauses by DAPA concern durability and defects in the initial production inspection. The durability-related clause originally stated, "The transmission must undergo a durability test using a transmission dynamometer according to the load cycle specified in Appendix A, and no defects should occur. During the test, filter and oil replacement and replenishment are allowed." The revised clause added, "A defect refers to a case where the transmission loses its basic functions (shifting, steering, braking) or experiences severe performance degradation that prevents further testing."

Regarding defects in the initial production inspection, the original clause stated, "Items that do not meet the necessary conditions specified in this standard during the initial production inspection must be corrected and repaired, followed by re-inspection." The revised clause now states, "If any item does not meet the necessary conditions specified in this standard during the initial production inspection, the inspection must be suspended until the cause of the defect is identified and corrections are completed. Once the defect is resolved, retesting of the relevant item will be conducted to determine pass or fail. However, if the corrective action affects equipment performance, the inspection must be conducted again from the initial test items."

With these clause changes by DAPA, it is expected that K2 tanks equipped with domestically produced transmissions will be mass-produced. DAPA plans to conduct the initial production inspection according to the revised defense standards. The results of the initial production inspection will be reported to the Defense Acquisition Program Promotion Committee, the highest decision-making body for weapon system acquisition. The committee will decide on the third mass production plan for the K2 tank, including whether to apply the domestic transmission.

The K2 tank development began in 2003 using a foreign powerpack (engine + transmission). To fully localize the tank by domesticating the powerpack, the heart of the tank, 96.4 billion KRW (48.8 billion KRW for the engine + 47.6 billion KRW for the transmission) was invested starting in 2005. In 2014, the 1,500-horsepower powerpack technology was developed, making Korea the third country in the world after Germany and the United States. The domestic powerpack was planned to be applied from the second mass production of the K2 tank.

However, during the initial production inspection of the domestic powerpack for the second mass production of the K2 tank, the engine met the defense standards, but the transmission did not. Therefore, a mixed powerpack (domestic engine + foreign transmission) was applied for the second mass production. The K2 tank, developed by the Agency for Defense Development with domestic independent technology, is a world-class tank. It has performance equal to or exceeding advanced main battle tanks such as the U.S. M1A2 SEP, France's Leclerc, and Germany's Leopard A6EX.

The K2 tank features driving capability at 50 km/h on rough terrain, the ability to cross rivers up to 4.1 meters deep while submerged, a suspension system that ensures safety and controls the chassis during driving, an autoloader that quickly loads shells even while moving, automatic target detection and tracking devices, an electric turret drive system, and a tactical information processing system.

S&T Heavy Industries, which produces the domestic transmission, denied allegations raised by some media regarding the K2 tank transmission. They fully rejected suspicions of connections to President Moon Jae-in. A company official stated, "Chairman Choi Pyung-gyu did not attend Gyeongnam High School," adding, "This is an attempt to link the company with President Moon without verifying accurate facts."

S&T Heavy Industries emphasized that it opposed DAPA's revised defense standards. The company said, "We have continuously requested that the defense standards be revised fairly for the domestic transmission as well," and stressed, "In particular, the revised defense standards are set more strictly compared to the durability test criteria for foreign transmissions that are imported."