A recent public display of Rheinmetall's commercial tank development, the KF51 Panther, got me curious about piecing together what I could regarding its capabilities. There's still not a whole lot out there, but here's what I have so far:
It's a 59-tonne vehicle with a 1,479 horsepower engine. Top speeds haven't been released yet, but once a road speed is known, its cross-country speed, based on P/W ratio, should be around 80% of the road speed according to
Fire, Fusion & Steel. Likewise, protection isn't currently known although it layers passive armor, ERA, and active protection systems, but with an emphasis on active systems to keep weight down.
The main armament is a 130mm L/52 cannon with 20 ready rounds in an autoloader.
Reload 2, Range 425. APFSDS-T is Damage 29, Pen 217/207/197/177, while HE is C34 B41, Pen 13C.
There's a .50 coax with 250 rounds and a remote weapon station fitted with a .30 with 2500 rounds. A pod with 4
Hero 120 loitering munitions can also be fitted to the turret.
The apparent goal is to market this to Leopard 2 users that aren't part of the Franco-German Main Ground Combat System program. Hopefully more details come out over the next few months to fill in some of the blanks regarding speed, planned protection systems, and alternate weapons for the remote station.