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.