Recently, South Korea Hanwha Defense Company said that it is actively promoting the K21-105 light tank developed by the company to the Indian Ministry of Defence. According to the project request for proposal previously issued by the Indian Ministry of Defence, it is planned to purchase 350 light tanks for the Indian Army. At present, in addition to K21-105 from Hanwha Defense Company of South Korea, there is also 2S25M Octopus -SDM1 light tank from Russia.
Development course of K21-105 light tank
Strictly speaking, the K21-105 light tank belongs to one of the variants of the K21 infantry fighting vehicle in active service of the Korean Army. In other words, K21-105 light tank is actually developed on the basis of the chassis of K21 infantry fighting vehicle, and it should belong to the tank destroyer according to the internationally accepted design positioning. However, South Korea’s Hanwha Defense Company called K21-105 a "medium tank" externally, just playing a "word game".
The development of K21 infantry fighting vehicle began in 1999. At that time, the South Korean Army had not equipped its own infantry fighting vehicles, and the only one that could cooperate with the K1 series main battle tanks was the K200 series armored personnel carrier, which was weak in firepower and protection. In addition, through the "Brown Bear Project", South Korea obtained the first batch of 33 BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles with advanced performance from Russia, and had a more intuitive understanding of this main battle equipment of the army today. In this case, the Korean Army launched the first-generation domestic infantry fighting vehicle research and development project named KNIFV, which was undertaken by Daewoo Integrated Machinery Co., Ltd., the main contractor of K200 series armored personnel carrier.
K21-105 light tank on display at the defense exhibition.
Since then, Daewoo Integrated Machinery Co., Ltd. has been acquired by Doosan Group, and KNIFV infantry fighting vehicles are also included in the latter. In 2005, Doosan Group publicly demonstrated the prototype of KNIFV infantry fighting vehicle for the first time at Seoul Air Show. Two years later, KNIFV infantry fighting vehicle was put into mass production and officially named K21. The South Korean Army purchased more than 900 K21 infantry fighting vehicles in two batches and delivered them all in 2011. In order to expand the sales and market of K21 series infantry fighting vehicles, Doosan Group actively develops various variant vehicles based on this type of infantry fighting vehicle chassis, and K21-105 is one of them.
In the late 1990s, Sweden’s Heglon Defence Company (which has been acquired by British BAE Systems Company) developed a CV90120-T light tank equipped with a 120mm smoothbore gun on the basis of its classic CV90 infantry fighting vehicle. When equipped with the highest armor protection, the total combat weight of this type of tank is only 35 tons, which is almost half that of the German "Leopard" 2A7 main battle tank, but it has almost the same firepower as the latter, creating a precedent for developing light tanks based on infantry fighting vehicles.
When Doosan Group developed K21-105 light tank, it borrowed the general design idea of Swedish CV90120-T, that is, "small car carrying cannon". However, in order to control R&D costs and improve mobility and passing capacity, Doosan Group set the upper limit of the total combat weight of K21-105 light tank at 25 tons. Moreover, in order to reduce the development risk and shorten the development cycle, Doosan Group did not independently develop the firepower system, but directly adopted the CT-CV modular turret of CMI Company in Belgium. In this way, Doosan Group only needs to do a good job of matching the CT-CV modular turret with the chassis of K21 infantry fighting vehicle.
The K21-105 light tank is equipped with a 105mm gun.
In 2014, Doosan Group exhibited the prototype of K21-105 light tank for the first time, and actively promoted it to the Korean Army and other foreign users. Since then, Doosan Group was acquired by Hanwha Defense Company in 2016, and the latter took over the follow-up research and development and promotion of K21-105 light tank. The reason why Hanwha Defence Company calls K21-105 a "medium tank" is mainly to expand its market coverage and attract more potential users. However, measured by the data that the total combat weight of K21-105 is only 25 tons, it can only be regarded as a light tank.
Now, after several rounds of improvement, K21-105 light tank has reached the expected design performance, even better. However, this type of tank has never attracted the interest of the military of the country and other countries. The Swedish CV90120-T light tank, which is the first of its kind, is also "applauding and not calling for seats". Therefore, when the Indian Ministry of Defence proposed to purchase 350 light tanks in one breath, it was tantamount to a "pie in the sky" for the Korean Hanwha Defense Company.
Comparison between K21-105 and 2S25M
Of course, just like other military trade procurement bidding projects proposed by the Indian Ministry of National Defense, the light tank project has to go through several rounds of "confrontation" between bidders before it can be won or lost. Moreover, the conditions proposed by the Indian Ministry of Defence may also be very harsh. However, the first thing that Korea Hanwha Defense Company has to face is the challenge from the Russian 2S25M Octopus -SDM1 light tank.
Previously, the author once introduced the Russian 2S25M Octopus -SDM1 light tank in a column. Here, the author mainly analyzes and compares K21-105 and 2S25M Octopus -SDM1 light tanks.
Generally speaking, K21-105 and 2S25M Octopus -SDM1 are both developed based on the chassis of infantry fighting vehicles. Only K21-105 adopts K21 medium infantry fighting vehicle chassis, while 2S25M Octopus -SDM1 adopts extended version of BMD-4M airborne infantry fighting vehicle chassis. Therefore, the total combat weight of 2S25M Octopus -SDM1 is only 18 tons, which is much lighter than that of K21-105. In addition, 2S25M "Octopus" -SDM1 is also equipped with a water-jet propulsion device, which has amphibious floating crossing capability, and its water speed is faster than that of K21-105.
2S25M Octopus -SDM1 is equipped with a 125mm gun.
Of course, the overall combat weight of K21-105 light tank is greater, which actually has the corresponding benefit, that is, the protection ability is stronger. With the highest armor protection module installed, K21-105 light tank can resist the attack of 30 mm tail stable shell-piercing projectile, while 2S25M Octopus -SDM1 can only resist the attack of 23mm Grenade at most. Therefore, the defense capabilities of the two are quite different.
Both K21-105 and 2S25M Octopus -SDM1 adopt advanced adjustable hydraulic and pneumatic suspension systems, which can realize the fore-and-aft pitching of the car body and match the pitching angle of the artillery, so they are very suitable for fighting in mountainous terrain. However, the artillery pitch angle of 2S25M Octopus -SDM1 is only-5 ~+15, while that of K21-105 is-10 ~+42. Obviously, a larger pitch angle can make the K21-105 light tank give full play to its firepower strike capability, and even be used as an indirect aiming gun, and its operational flexibility is better than that of 2S25M Octopus -SDM1.
From the fire system, 2S25M Octopus -SDM1 is equipped with a 125mm 2A75 musket, while K21-105 is equipped with a 105mm Cockerill 52 times diameter 105mm rifled gun. Simply from the caliber comparison, 2S25M "Octopus" -SDM1 seems to be dominant. In fact, the 2A75 smoothbore gun belongs to the reduced bore pressure version of the 2A46M1 125mm smoothbore gun equipped by the Soviet Union’s main battle tanks. Although it can use the same kind of bombs, it is much less powerful, especially for launching armor-piercing projectiles with stable tail fins.
On the other hand, K21-105 equipped with 105 mm rifling gun has increased the limit rifling pressure by 20% while maintaining the original rifling, trajectory and chamber volume of British L7 105 mm rifling gun. When launching M1060CV tail-fin armor-piercing projectile, it can penetrate 540 mm/60 homogeneous steel armor at a distance of 2000 meters. Therefore, the armor-piercing ability of K21-105 is better than that of 2S25M Octopus -SDM1. Moreover, Hanwha Defense Company of South Korea also equipped K21-105 light tank with Ukrainian-developed Faralicq laser beam gun-launched missile, which has a maximum range of 5,000m and armor-piercing capability greater than 550mm. In this way, K21-105 has the same capability of launching gun-launched missiles as 2S25M Octopus -SDM1.
K21-105 light tank adopts modular turret.
It should be noted that the K21-105 light tank uses a modular turret. If the Indian Ministry of Defence has the requirement of enhancing firepower, then the Hanwha Defense Company of South Korea, with the assistance of CMI Company of Belgium, can also replace the 105 mm rifle gun with a lightweight 120 mm rifle gun similar to the CV90120-T light tank.
In terms of fire control system, both K21-105 and 2S25M Octopus -SDM1 have the ability of "hunting-fighters". However, the current K21-105 light tank has been upgraded from the original CT-CV modular turret to the latest XC-8 turret, and the performance of the fire control system has been improved, with the ability to shoot while moving. The 2S25M Octopus -SDM1 is equipped with the current mainstream "Pine Tree" -U multi-channel gunner sight and "Hawkeye" captain periscope. Generally speaking, the fire control system of K21-105 and C3I system have better performance.
In terms of power system, K21-105 light tank adopts D2840LXE turbocharged diesel engine (750 HP) developed by Doosan Group of Korea, and it can also be replaced with MTU-8V-199-TE20 twin turbocharged diesel engine (720 HP) of German MTU company according to user’s requirements. The 2S25M Octopus -SDM1 is equipped with a UTD-29 turbocharged diesel engine with an output of 510 HP. Considering that the total combat weight of the two models is different, their maneuverability is basically the same. However, according to the requirements of Indian Ministry of Defence for use in plateau and mountainous areas, both K21-105 and 2S25M "Octopus" -SDM1 should be improved in power-transmission system.
2S25M Octopus -SDM1 is equipped with advanced fire control system, which has the ability of "hunting-fighters".
Analysis of bidding prospect
Judging from the requirements put forward by the Indian Ministry of Defence at present, it is not simply to purchase light tank products in bulk from a certain country, but to introduce patented technology for assembly and production in India. In this respect, Korea Hanwha Defense Company obviously has an advantage. At present, the company has cooperated with Larsen&Toubro in India, and is making every effort to produce the Indian version of K9 155mm self-propelled howitzer-"King Kong"-T. Therefore, Hanwha Defense Company of Korea expressed its willingness to continue to cooperate with Larsen&Toubro on the K21-105 light tank project to meet the requirements of Indian Ministry of Defence.
In addition, Hanwha Defense Company of South Korea also indicated that it will improve the K21-105 light tank according to the specific requirements put forward by the Indian Ministry of Defence, including further reducing the total combat weight and improving the configuration of each subsystem. Koreans’ active and cooperative marketing attitude is much better than that of arrogant Russian military enterprises. In addition, recently, a spokesman for the State Council in the United States repeatedly "named" India at a regular press conference, not to continue to purchase Russian weapons and equipment in large quantities, and even threatened the so-called "Counter-attack the American Enemy with Sanctions Act". These are the unfavorable factors that Russia 2S25M Octopus -SDM1 needs to face in bidding for Indian light tank project.
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