One Middle East country has showed interest to purchase K2 main battle tank.

The South Korean Company Hyundai Rotem presents a desert version of its K2 Black Panther Main Battle Tank (MBT) at DX Korea Defense Exhibition in South Korea. The K2 MBT is one of the most modern MBT in the world fully developed and produced in South Korea, that entered in service with the South Korean armed forces in June 2014.

Desert version of the South Korean K2 main battle tank at DX Korea defense exhibition. September 2018 (Picture source Army Recognition)

The design and armament of the desert version of the K2 is similar to the original version but the right side of the turret is equipped with an air conditioning system.

According to Hyundai Rotem manager, the K2 MBT has been already tested in desert conditions, and some countries in the Middle East have showed interest to purchase the tank.

The K2 Black Panther MBT has a crew of three members including commander, gunner and driver. Main armament consists of one 120mm L/55 smoothbore gun with automatic loading system indigenously developed by Hyundai Wia. Second armament includes one M60 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun and one 12.7mm machine gun mounted on the commander hatch.

The K2 is fitted with composite armor mounted on each side of the hull and Explosive Reactive Armor (ERA) around the turret. The tank is also protected against missiles and rockets threats thanks to the use of an APS (Active Protection System) and a laser warning defense system.

Standard equipment of the K2 Black Panther MBT includes auto target detection and tracking system, panoramic sight, global positioning system, inertial navigation system, identification friend or foe (IFF) system, and a collective nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) protection system.

The right side of the turret is equipped with one air-conditioning system (Picture source Army Recognition)