[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] Will the 'Heart of the K2 Tank' Be Fully Domesticized?

DAPA Reports to National Assembly: "Early Completion of Quality Inspection for Domestic Transmissions"

Amid the military authorities' decision to consider applying a domestically produced transmission to the K2 tank, SNT Dynamics plans to conduct quality inspections on the transmission it independently exported to T?rkiye, taking into account the period of the 4th mass production.

The ‘powerpack’ installed in the K2 tank is a term that combines the engine and transmission. It is a core device that drives the tank, which costs over 10 billion won per unit, and controls speed and direction. The reason the K2 tank, a 50-ton-plus lump of metal, can move freely is due to the powerpack’s function. Therefore, the powerpack is also called the ‘heart of the tank.’

On the 1st, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration stated in a report to the National Assembly’s Defense Committee, “After a quality inspection led by the Defense Technology Quality Institute on the transmission produced by the company for export to T?rkiye, we will consider the results and promote its application in the 4th mass production.” They added, “To prevent delays in the deployment of the 4th mass production units, we will apply defense standards to the transmissions produced first for export and complete the quality inspection early.”

The K2 tank has used German-made transmissions so far. Regarding this, there has been controversy inside and outside the military that the domestically produced powerpack applied to the K2 tank was evaluated under less favorable conditions compared to the German product during testing. The German powerpack underwent operational test evaluation (OT) and development test evaluation (DT) as a new product, but the domestic powerpack was evaluated using prototypes that had already run over 3,326 km for operational testing and over 9,643 km for development testing. Considering the K2 tank’s durability lifespan of 9,600 km, this means that tanks whose service life cycle had already arrived were used in the development test evaluation.

Additionally, criticism was raised that the testing standards were stricter for the domestic powerpack. The ‘8-hour, 100 km continuous driving’ evaluation applied to the domestic powerpack was not applied to the German powerpack. As a result, the domestic powerpack experienced engine failure during the 8-hour continuous driving test.

However, the German powerpack received a ‘combat suitability’ rating based on test evaluations conducted in 2007?2008, while the domestic powerpack, during test evaluations starting in February 2009, encountered a total of 124 defects (42 requiring correction) and did not receive a combat suitability rating.

The K2 tank has been undergoing its 3rd mass production since the initial production started in 2010. The 4th mass production is scheduled to be completed between 2024 and 2028, marking the completion of its deployment.