North Korean state media has unveiled a big scale new manufacturing facility manufacturing the subsequent era Tianma 2 most important battle tanks, in addition to tracked automobiles carrying very excessive calibre 600mm rocket artillery for the KN-25 system. The power was proven throughout a go to by the chairman of the ruling Korean Staff’ Occasion Kim Jong Un, who burdened that changing the Korean Folks’s Army’s armoured automobiles of the final century with the most recent fashions had turn out to be a main activity of constructing the armed forces. The chairman expressed satisfaction that within the discipline of tank trade, North Korea’s new tank design its fireplace controls had been up to date, enhancing the consolation of the tank crew. The trade had additionally demonstrated the excessive efficiency and reliability of its “tremendous excessive energy” engine challenge permitting or mass manufacturing. He highlighted the event of an built-in energy transmission system that may enhance the driving efficiency and varied mobility efficiency, in addition to the revolutionary upgrades to the most recent energetic safety system, passive safety means, and digital warfare methods, which marked main progress made within the improvement of key applied sciences of the brand new tank and the extremely worth the achievements of scientific and technological personnel.
Whereas visiting the manufacturing facility Chairman Kim emphasised the significance of tanks in fashionable warfare, stating that modifications within the situations on the trendy battle discipline had made it crucial to precisely grasp the army function that such automobiles planed. “We should re-understand the tank design, in any other case it’s not possible to do a superb job of armoured pressure building,” he noticed. Earlier than the yr 2020, the Korean Folks’s Army was recognized solely to discipline enhanced derivatives of the Soviet T-62 as its spine, after the tank class was produced within the nation beneath license from the Eighties. Over 2000 older Soviet T-54/55 tanks have been additionally in service, whereas the elite of the nation’s armoured models was fashioned of Pokpung Ho tanks that entered service within the 2000s, however nonetheless lacked comparable sophistication to overseas designs such because the Chinese language Sort 99, Russian T-90M, or South Korean K2. The disclosing of the Chonma 2 tank in 2020, nonetheless, represented a significant milestone in North Korean tank design, with the car representing the nation’s first that could possibly be thought-about doubtlessly absolutely on par with its abroad opponents. More and more superior variants of the tank have since continued to be unveiled, together with the brand new Tianma 2 first seen in November 2024.
The Chonma 2 and Tianma 2 are notable for his or her integration of energetic safety methods, which use radars to constantly monitor their surrounding environments for incoming threats, and when detecting incoming projectiles monitor them routinely, calculate their trajectories, and deploy protecting munitions to intercept and destroy them. Lively safety methods have been first operationalised by Israel in 2009, with the shortage of comparable methods within the Western world main Germany and america to amass the Israeli Trophy system for their very own tanks. Russia solely started to operationalise such a system in 2024, presumably later than North Korea. North Korea’s energetic safety system was first seen in use in footage launched in July 2023 exhibiting the Chonma 2 tank in testing. The Tianma 2’s main armament is a 125mm smoothbore gun, with footage beforehand launched having confirmed the deployment of recent armour piercing fin stabilised discarding sabot rounds with glorious size to diameter ratios, indicating a excessive penetrative functionality. Higher size signifies a extra structurally environment friendly sabot design permitting it to defeat larger line of sight armour depth. As secondary armaments, the tank’s remotely operated weapon station deploys each launchers for anti-tank guided missiles, in addition to a 12.7mm heavy machine gun. The turret roof of the tank is outfitted with a counter-drone launcher system.
A modular composite armour turret on the Tianma 2 seems to supply excessive ranges of safety towards each kinetic vitality projectiles and formed expenses. The entrance and sides of the hull are coated by Explosive Reactive Armour, whereas extra safety towards formed expenses similar to rocket propelled grenades is offered by wire cage armour within the rear. A panoramic sight system for the commander and gunner present enhanced goal acquisition and monitoring capabilities and considerably improved ranges of situational consciousness. The Tianma 2 can be notable for being the primary North Korean tank to combine an autoloader, decreasing its crew from 4 to a few personnel and growing the speed of fireplace. North Korea has demonstrated the flexibility to provide fight automobiles on a scale beforehand solely considered potential in neighbouring China, with a notable instance being its mass manufacturing of launchers for KN-24 ballistic missile methods permitting 1000 of them to be commissioned to frontline models close to the inter-Korean border in 2024. Giant scale manufacturing of the Tianma 2 might facilitate a revolutionising of the nation’s frontline armoured warfare capabilities, permitting for a complete phasing out of the T-55, T-62 and Pokpung 2 from frontline and secondary positions. This could contribute to the numerous shift within the stability of energy on the Korean Peninsula favouring the north, which has seen its defence sector attain world main standing in a variety of areas over the previous decade from anti-tank guided missiles and hypersonic glide automobiles to floor to air missile methods.
