Defence & Space

Poland’s 6th Airborne Sharpshooters Complete Training with New Grot DMR

In July, the first-ever course in the Polish Armed Forces for sharpshooters equipped with semi-automatic Grot 7.62×51 designated marksman rifles…

2025-07-15 | Jakub Link-Lenczowski | 5 minutes

5000 more Galvion’s Batlskin Caiman helmets for the Canadian DICE programme

Galvion receives further follow-on Batlskin Caiman order of 5000 helmets, for the Canadian Dismounted Infantry Capability Enhancement (DICE) programme.

2025-07-15 | Redakcja | 3 minutes

SIPRI: Nuclear risks grow as new arms race looms

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute published a report entitled SIPRI Yearbook 2025, which, among other things, discusses the issue of…

2025-06-16 | Redakcja | 10 minutes

Polish 35 mm SA-35 Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun with PIT-Radwar

During the recent MSPO trade fair in Kielce, the company PIT-Radwar presented its proposal for a 35 mm self-propelled anti-aircraft gun…

2025-06-13 | Przemysław Gurgurewicz | 13 minutes

Poland’s 6th Airborne Sharpshooters Complete Training with New Grot DMR

In July, the first-ever course in the Polish Armed Forces for sharpshooters equipped with semi-automatic Grot 7.62×51 designated marksman rifles…

2025-07-15 | Jakub Link-Lenczowski | 5 minutes

Second Delivery of K9A1 Thunder Howitzers to Poland This Year

A shipment of 155 mm K9A1 Thunder self-propelled howitzers arrived in Poland from the Republic of Korea, the second delivery of…

2025-07-15 | Rafał Muczyński | 3 minutes

Orion: The Force Multiplier that led the IDF to unmatched ground superiority

Orion, developed by Asio Technologies in collaboration with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) technology division and in full operational deployment by the…

2025-07-09 | Redakcja | 4 minutes

SKW Cryptographic Security Certificate for Polish Comp@n Radio Set from the WB Group

The WB Group announced that the Comp@n system radio set, developed by its subsidiary Radmor, along with the Cryptographic Document Management…

2025-06-14 | Redakcja | 4 minutes

Wescom Defence to Unveil ATMIS Multispectral Camouflage at DSEI 2025

Wescom Defence, a trusted provider of pyrotechnics, energetics and a wide range of reliable products and systems to global defence forces, will officially…

2025-07-14 | Redakcja | 3 minutes

2nd S.E.A.L Conference under Our media patronage

We are pleased to announce that MILMAG Military Magazine has become the media patron of the second edition of the SE.A.L Conference,…

2025-07-11 | Redakcja | 1 minutes

5000 more Galvion’s Batlskin Caiman helmets for the Canadian DICE programme

Galvion receives further follow-on Batlskin Caiman order of 5000 helmets, for the Canadian Dismounted Infantry Capability Enhancement (DICE) programme.

2025-07-15 | Redakcja | 3 minutes

ICEYE unveils machine learning-powered Flood Rapid Impact Product to revolutionize response

The Polish-Finnish company ICEYE, a specialist in satellite-powered disaster management solutions, has announced the launch of Flood Rapid Impact (FRI).

2025-07-15 | Redakcja | 5 minutes

Illegal migration to Europe in the first five months of 2025

The European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) has published statistics on attempted illegal crossings of the EU’s external borders…

2025-07-08 | Redakcja | 3 minutes

LOT Polish Airlines Selected for Air Transport and MEDEVAC under the EU’s rescEU Program

LOT Polish Airlines has signed an agreement to provide air transport and MEDEVAC services. As part of the EU’s rescEU instrument…

2025-07-07 | Redakcja | 3 minutes

Poland’s 6th Airborne Sharpshooters Complete Training with New Grot DMR

In July, the first-ever course in the Polish Armed Forces for sharpshooters equipped with semi-automatic Grot 7.62×51 designated marksman rifles…

2025-07-15 | Jakub Link-Lenczowski | 5 minutes

5000 more Galvion’s Batlskin Caiman helmets for the Canadian DICE programme

Galvion receives further follow-on Batlskin Caiman order of 5000 helmets, for the Canadian Dismounted Infantry Capability Enhancement (DICE) programme.

2025-07-15 | Redakcja | 3 minutes

Illegal migration to Europe in the first five months of 2025

The European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) has published statistics on attempted illegal crossings of the EU’s external borders…

2025-07-08 | Redakcja | 3 minutes

East Shield and the Baltic Defense Line: Cooperation and Investment in Defense Are the Cornerstone of Europe’s Security

East Shield, the Baltic Defense Line, the integration of available deterrence and defense capabilities, and EU defense funding were the…

2025-07-02 | Redakcja | 2 minutes

ICEYE unveils machine learning-powered Flood Rapid Impact Product to revolutionize response

The Polish-Finnish company ICEYE, a specialist in satellite-powered disaster management solutions, has announced the launch of Flood Rapid Impact (FRI).

2025-07-15 | Redakcja | 5 minutes

LYOFOOD Pierogi Become First Polish Dish Eaten in Space

Yesterday, during a live broadcast from the International Space Station, our astronaut Dr. Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, together with Axiom-4 mission commander Peggy…

2025-07-07 | Rafał Muczyński | 3 minutes
Shooting

Galvion’s Caiman Helmets from Gdańsk

Two weeks have passed since the memorable Monday, June 23, of this year. The emotions have settled, and the long…

2025-07-10 | Dariusz Borkowski | 9 minutes

CZ Shooting Team athletes take home 13 medals from the CZ Extreme Euro Open

Sport shooters representing Ceska zbrojovka brought back six gold, four silver, and three bronze medals from Hodonice, along with four…

2025-07-04 | Redakcja | 4 minutes

Upgraded Z8i Scope from SWAROVSKI OPTIK

Swarovski Optik, the Austrian optics manufacturer with nearly 80 years of tradition, has unveiled an upgraded version of its Z8i…

2025-07-03 | Mariusz Piwowar | 3 minutes

Streamlight introduces the SL-SideSaddle

Streamlight, Inc., a leading provider of high-performance lighting tools, announces the SL-SideSaddle series, a new hands-free lighting solution built for outdoor adventure…

2025-07-01 | Redakcja | 3 minutes

Galvion’s Caiman Helmets from Gdańsk

Two weeks have passed since the memorable Monday, June 23, of this year. The emotions have settled, and the long…

2025-07-10 | Dariusz Borkowski | 9 minutes

IFRE 2025: Maskpol Showcases Protective Suits and Gas Masks

Maskpol, a company within the Polish Armaments Group (PGZ), presented part of its product range—protective suits and gas masks—at the 5th…

2025-06-17 | Michał Ihnatów | 2 minutes

Galvion’s Caiman Helmets from Gdańsk

Two weeks have passed since the memorable Monday, June 23, of this year. The emotions have settled, and the long…

2025-07-10 | Dariusz Borkowski | 9 minutes

CZ Shooting Team athletes take home 13 medals from the CZ Extreme Euro Open

Sport shooters representing Ceska zbrojovka brought back six gold, four silver, and three bronze medals from Hodonice, along with four…

2025-07-04 | Redakcja | 4 minutes

CZ Introduces the New CZ P-10 C PORTED Model

CZ P-10 C PORTED – a compact pistol with tamed recoil thanks to an integrated compensator.

2025-07-02 | Redakcja | 3 minutes

Meprolight MMX3 and MMX4 – Lightweight Magnifiers with Quality Optics

The Mepro MMX3 and MMX4, a new line of compact magnifiers from the Israeli manufacturer. How do they perform in practice and…

2025-06-27 | Krzysztof Ptak | 8 minutes

Paris Air Show 2025: Bayraktar TB3 Debuts

The 55th edition of the International Paris Air and Space Show, held in the French capital, provided an opportunity for…

2025-06-19 | Radosław Niesobski | 3 minutes

Setting Up a Shooting Belt: An Example with Clawgear

To assist with shooting training and beyond, various belts and gear configurations have been developed and customized to suit individual needs. It’s…

2024-11-28 | Łukasz Kołodziejski | 14 minutes

Over 100% increase in gun permits in Poland in 2024

The Polish Police have released statistical data on firearm permits issued in 2024. An increasing number of Poles now hold…

2025-02-20 | Michał Ihnatów | 5 minutes

Firearms In Poland 2023: Number of permits continues to grow

The National Police Headquarters has released statistics regarding the number of firearm permits and firearms themselves in the hands of…

2024-02-17 | Michał Ihnatów | 5 minutes

5 Best Value ATN Rifle Scopes Under €1500

ATN is a leading manufacturer of daytime optics, smart night vision, and thermal vision technology. The innovative features and ergonomic designs…

2022-11-11 | Redakcja | 8 minutes

MILMAG Visits Grand Power

Grand Power is a Slovak manufacturer of the acknowledged good quality firearms. Take part in our guided tour with English subtitles.

2022-05-23 | Redakcja | 1 minutes

Meprolight MMX3 and MMX4 – Lightweight Magnifiers with Quality Optics

The Mepro MMX3 and MMX4, a new line of compact magnifiers from the Israeli manufacturer. How do they perform in practice and…

2025-06-27 | Krzysztof Ptak | 8 minutes

Streamlight TLR-7 HL-X – a Bayonet of Light for Your Weapon

The devil’s not so scary once you shine a light on him—and he’s certainly easier to neutralize in the spotlight. A weapon-mounted flashlight…

2025-06-09 | Anna Mielczarek | 6 minutes

EOTECH Holographic Sight – History, Technology, Practice

The holographic sight is a device known for nearly 30 years and used by professionals around the world. A favorite sight of many…

2024-09-02 | Michał Gaweł | 12 minutes

Green light for the Korean power-pack for K2 tanks

South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) has approved the production of a tank power-pack consisting of the HD Hyundai Doosan Infracore DV27K diesel engine and the SNT Dynamics EST15K transmission.

On Friday, September 20, 2024, the South Korean newspaper The Asia Business Daily was the first to report that the day before, during the latest meeting of the DAPPC (Defense Acquisition Program Promotion Committee), the topic of approving the production of the power-pack for the K2 Heuk-Pyo (Black Panther) tanks, consisting of the HD Hyundai Doosan Infracore DV27K diesel engine and the SNT Dynamics EST15K transmission, was discussed. The decision is positive and will be officially announced soon.

Photos: Hyunmin Park, MILMAG

The currently operational K2 tanks are still equipped with RENK HSWL 295 TM transmissions due to unresolved development issues with the Korean power-pack, and the vehicles from the first production batch are fitted with MTU MT 883 Ka-500 engines. This configuration of the power-pack was selected as early as 2003, but just two years later, a decision was made to begin work on a domestic equivalent, approving a budget of 96.4 billion KRW.

However, due to a combination of problems, such as poor planning, issues with the company responsible for development, insufficient budget, and too short a time frame, it was decided that the first serial production vehicles in 2012 would be equipped with the German power-pack. Nevertheless, issues were also detected in the German power-pack, and as a result, authorities in Seoul decided to continue the development of a domestic power-pack.

The basic performance requirements for the Korean power-pack were as follows:

  • continuous operation time without failure: 9,600 km or 320 hours;
  • acceleration from 0 to 32 km/h: 8 seconds (changed to 9 seconds in 2014).

Although the developed DV27K engine met the demanding requirements of the client, the biggest problems were caused by the EST15K transmissions, which were found to have defects in 2010. Therefore, the first two production batches of the K2 used the German power-pack, and only with the third batch for the Republic of Korea Army, as well as the K2GF for Poland, was the DV27K engine used, but still coupled with the RENK HSWL 295 TM transmission.

K-TCU with EST-15K

Given that the fourth production batch of K2 tanks was approved on May 25, 2023, the domestic power-pack was subjected to final testing under the supervision of the DAPA office. The tests were conducted from April to July 2024, resulting in 9,200 km and 306 hours of operation without failure. This was 400 km and 14 hours below the client’s requirements due to a brake system issue.

As a result, SNT Dynamics proposed several quality assurance measures, including the free delivery of five transmissions to reduce fleet-wide failure rates (Maintenance Float), the establishment of a technical support center with professional staff, an extension of the quality maintenance period from one year to two years, and a free warranty on all defective parts to allow for immediate replacement if the power-pack fails.

Therefore, DAPA approved the Korean power-pack, and it can now be implemented in mass production for both domestic vehicles and export (for Turkish Altay T.2 tanks).

Description

The DV27K is a 4-stroke, 12-cylinder, water-cooled diesel engine with a power output of 1,500 horsepower (1,104 kW) at 2,700 rpm, featuring twin turbocharging. The engine weight (without engine oil) is 2,578 kg. It is characterized by a maximum torque of 450 kg-m at 1,400/1,800 rpm. The engine displacement is 26.9 liters. The engine dimensions are: 1,828 mm in length, 1,060 mm in width, and 1,126 mm in height. The fuel injection is fully electronic.

The EST15K automatic transmission features six forward gears and three reverse gears, designed to work with a diesel engine with a power output of 1,500-1,700 horsepower, operating at a maximum of 1,800-3,200 rpm, for vehicles with a maximum weight of up to 65 tons. It is equipped with a hydraulic torque converter with an automatic clutch, a continuously variable hydrostatic/hydrodynamic steering system, and a hybrid braking system consisting of a retarder and mechanical disc brakes. The transmission weight (without oil) is 2,500 kg. It uses 140 liters of oil: MIL-PRF-2104 15W40 for summer and MIL-L-46167 Arctic Oil for winter operation.

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