The Future of Tanks | The KF51 “Panther” Tank & Abrams M1A2 SEP v3 and v4 Tanks

Video Above: Tank Modernization and Tank Battles in War

By Kris Osborn – President & Editor-In-Chief, Warrior Maven

Laser weapons to incinerate enemy helicopters, AI-enabled computing to identify targets in milliseconds, guided munitions to decimate obscured moving targets, Active Protection Systems to “take out” incoming anti-tank weapons and an ability to launch “mini-attack-drones” are all fast unfolding concepts of operation informing the future of tank warfare.

KF51 “Panther” Tank and Abrams Tank

What about future tanks? Certainly the question gets much attention, as questions about composite materials, heavy armor and mobility persist and the US Army contemplates its approach to future armored platforms. At the moment, the service seems deeply immersed in a two-pronged approach, meaning it is both sustaining and upgrading its heavily armored platforms such as the Abrams tank while also exploring concepts for lighter-weight, more mobile and expeditionary armored attack vehicles. There will likely be a place for both, as militaries around the world seek to achieve the optimal balance.

The question is now getting a flurry of new attention following Rheinmetall’s release of its new KF51 “Panther” tank, a new vehicle deliberately named after the famous WWII German Panzers. The new tank, unveiled recently at the well known Eurosatory military trade show in France, features a host of technologies now generating attention such as a larger 130mm cannon, ability to launch drones, top-down protection and 360-degree sensors. The vehicle is reported to be lighter than the 70-ton Abrams tank at 59-tons and incorporate a crew of three with an autoloader for ammunition.

An interesting write up in Popular Mechanics details many of the technologies built into the new Panther, which also incorporates a new generation of digital computing, Active Protection Systems and composite materials. The Popular Mechanics article says the turret is “edgier” and more angled but that the main chassis is similar in configuration to the German Leopard 2 legacy tank.

Naturally, many are likely to immediately compare the modern Panther with the most current variants of the Abrams tank such as the M1A2 SEP v3 and v4. Is there a margin of difference between the Abrams and the Panther, meaning does the new German tank represent a paradigm-changing improvement above upgraded tanks such as the Abrams?