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| K-2 Black Panther (Wiki Info - Image: Wiki Commons) |
South Korea will deploy around 100 of its indigenously-built K-2 Black Panther main battle tanks (MBTs) by 2017, the country's defence procurement agency has announced. The decision in this regard was taken during a defence project committee meeting presided over by Defence Minister Han Min-koo, the Defence Acquisition Programme Administration (DAPA) said.
"The K-2 battle tank will allow the military to have advanced combat vehicles with improved mobility and firepower fit for future environments," DAPA spokesman Kim Si-cheol was quioted as saying by the official Yonhap news agency.
"We can overcome numerical inferiority compared to North Korea with this high-quality battle tank, and we expect the K-2 to be actively exported to foreign markets," the official added.
Mass production of the new-generation MBT, set to replace the aging K-1 and US-built M48 tanks, was originally planned to begin in 2009, but faulty indigenous engines and transmission of the tanks halted the production.
Read the full story at Army Recognition