South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) has cleared the integration of an indigenously developed transmission for the Republic of Korea Army’s (RoKA) Hyundai Rotem K2 main battle tank (MBT), the agency announced on 28 October.
Without disclosing further details, DAPA said in its statement that the fourth tranche of K2 MBTs will feature a completely domestic powerpack once the new transmission is successfully integrated to a previously qualified indigenous engine.
“With the application of the domestic transmission, the powerpack of the K2 tank will be completely domestically produced,” noted DAPA.
Germany’s Renk Group earlier announced in October 2023 that it had signed a contract with Hyundai Rotem, to supply 197 transmission systems from 2023 to 2025 with an option for the delivery of 800 more from 2026.
The new transmissions have been earmarked for the 180 MBTs worth up to US$3.37 billion ordered by Poland in August that year. The selection of the German-made transmission at the time suggested that an indigenous transmission system was still beyond the grasp of South Korean industry.
Although unconfirmed, DAPA could have selected SNT Dynamics’ 1,500 hp-class EST15K transmission system, which entered the final stages of development in late 2022. The company earlier told AMR that it is aiming to supply the transmission for integration to the third or fourth batches of K2 MBTs that will be manufactured from 2023 onwards.
Despite its successes in producing what has been widely seen as a world-class MBT with the K2 platform, South Korea has nevertheless faced considerable technical challenges with the tank’s powerpack development – which comprises the engine and transmission system – for at least 15 years.
DAPA announced in March 2011 that mass production of the K2 MBT for the RoKA would be delayed due to the unsatisfactory performance of the local powerpack then under development by Doosan Infracore (now Hyundai Doosan Infracore) and SNT Dynamics. The first production batch of K2 MBTs were thus equipped with Renk HSWL 295 transmissions coupled to the German MTU MT883 Ka-500 V12 diesel engine as a stopgap measure.
Hyundai Rotem was able to equip tanks from the second production batch with the Hyundai Doosan Infracore DV27K engine, although the SNT Dynamics was again unable to prove the maturity of its EST15K transmission and the resultant powerpack for this production tranche combined the local DV27K engine with Renk’s HSWL 295 transmissions. The second batch of K2 MBTs were delivered in 2019.
According to SNT Dynamics, the EST15K transmission has a dry weight of 2,500 kg and features six forward and three reverse gears and can support engines rated at between 1,500 and 1,650 hp at a maximum input speed range of 2,000 to 3,000 rpm.
by Jr Ng
