Additional Production Needed for K2 Tank 4th Batch

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] There has been a claim that additional production of K2 tanks is necessary to replace the M48 series tanks currently held by the Army.

Min Hong-chul, a member of the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly from the Democratic Party of Korea, pointed out in a press release distributed on the 6th ahead of the Joint Chiefs of Staff audit, "The M series tanks held by the Army have exceeded their standard lifespan by more than 13 years since their performance upgrade in 1982, so replacement is necessary," and added, "Although the Army proposed the 4th production in 2019, the Joint Chiefs of Staff have not made a decision."

The M series tanks operated by the Army are the M48A3K tanks (about 200 units) and M48A5K tanks (about 400 units). However, the M48 series tanks lack fording capability, cannot fire while on the move, and do not have active protection systems or reactive armor. The M series tanks operated in seven divisions are severely aged, causing mobility to drop from 50 km/h to 20-30 km/h. Among 4,773 repair parts, production of 906 items has been discontinued.

Rep. Min said, "Although the first production (100 units), second production (106 units), and third production (54 units) of the K2 tank have been carried out, additional production is necessary," and added, "Through the 4th production, the number of K2 tanks should be increased to about 360 units."