The Korean K1-A1 Main
Battle Tank. (*1) was a local Korean design
developed along the lines of the US Abrams Main Battle Tank with
most of the important features included.
While the US Abrams has a petrol guzzling turbine
engine to provide the power and speed for its 60 ton weight, the
Koreans depended on a 1200 horsepower MTU
turbo-charged diesel engine licensed for manufacture in
Korea.
It has the advanced Chobham composite armor used by
most advance western designed main battle tanks, and incorporated
it into its unique use of ‘four
inch thick aluminum alloy’ (*2) for its main hull to
achieve a lighter 50 ton weight and with a lower profile
compared to the Abrams.
Another unique feature of the Korean K1-A1 MBT is its
hydraulic ability to have the front section of
the tank to "kneel" - allowing the main gun to
be depressed lower to engage targets below its
position when shooting from high ground.
The K1-A1 has its main gun 105mm identical to the
Abrams M1-A1 and use the same NATO rounds available to the
Abrams.
With the Abrams M1A1 being upgraded to the A2
series equipped with a smooth bore 120mm main gun,
the Koreans have similarly developed upgrades as
a second generation 55 ton MBT - to be known as
the "Black Panther"
(*3) and which will be rolled out by year 2010.
