On Thursday, April 11, 2024, on the German portal Hartpunkt, Armin Papperger, CEO of the German group Rheinmetall AG, reported on the progress of the new 130-mm Rh-130 smoothbore tank gun, which has a length of 52 times its caliber.
Rh-130 gun, still as a technology demonstrator with a length of 51 calibers / Photo: Rheinmetall AG
The most important information is the revelation that a few weeks ago, at an industry conference in Germany, Rheinmetall AG reportedly signed a research and development agreement with an undisclosed client to develop a production version of the gun along with its ammunition.
It is unclear whether this involves Hungary, which, according to the agreement from December 15, 2023, aims to certify and establish local production of the new-generation KF51 Panther tank, armed with the Rh-130 L52. At that time, it was reported that Budapest was interested in the Panther KF51 EVO variant with the 120-mm Rh-120 L55A1 gun from the latest version of the Leopard 2. Did Hungary change its mind? That is also unknown.
Another option is Germany. Rheinmetall AG wants to offer Berlin the KF51 Panther as an interim solution before the introduction of the German-French next-generation tank, the MGCS (Main Ground Combat System). In France, there are also voices advocating for an interim solution, but they are more likely to point to the EMBT (Euro Main Battle Tank) technology demonstrator.
Armin Papperger claims that the interim KF51 Panther could be designated as the Leopard 3 or Leopard 2+, because despite its new turret and heavily modernized chassis, it essentially still derives from the current generation of German tanks. Another option would be to develop a new interim tank based on the KF51 solutions.
Rh-130
Work on tank armament larger than the NATO standard caliber began in 2015, and the technology demonstrator was completed in May 2016 and presented at the Eurosatory 2016 trade fair in Paris in June. Initially, it was a 51-caliber gun, but it was later extended to 52 calibers.
The Rh-130 L/51 gun assembly weighed 3000 kg (including mounting elements), and the barrel length was 6630 mm (with a weight of 1400 kg). After the extension to L/52, the weight increased to 3500 kg, and the barrel length to 6760 mm. For comparison, the currently used Rh-120 gun in Leopard 2 tanks has a length ranging from 5230 mm (L44) to 6630 mm (L55) and weighs between 1190 kg to 1347 kg (without mounts), with the assembly weighing up to 2700 kg.
Simultaneously, Rheinmetall has been working on new ammunition for the Rh-130 gun: an Armor-Piercing, Fin Stabilized, Discarding Sabot (APFSDS) round. This round features an extended penetrator made from a new tungsten alloy, a new combustible case, and a new propellant mixture. The cartridges, including the case, have a total length of 1.3 meters and a weight of 40 kg.
As previously emphasized by Rheinmetall AG, increasing the caliber by 8% resulted in a 50% increase in kinetic energy compared to ammunition fired from the Rh-120 gun. The APFSDS ammunition will be complemented by high-explosive airburst (HEAB) rounds with a programmable fuze, developed as a successor to the 120-mm high-explosive DM11 round.
Besides the KF51 Panther, the new gun was tested on the British FV4034 Challenger 2 tank. However, for the Challenger 3 Life Extension Project (LEP) modernization program, the Rh-120 L55A1 gun was offered as the successor to the L30A1 rifled gun.
It is also, of course, offered in the aforementioned MGCS program, but very soon, possibly this month, it will become clear which main armament Berlin and Paris have chosen. The competitor is the French 140-mm ASCALON (Autoloaded and SCALable Outperforming guN) gun with telescoped ammunition, developed by Nexter Systems.
Rheinmetall AG does not rule out the possibility of integrating the new gun with the Lynx 120 fire support vehicle, based on the KF41 Lynx infantry fighting vehicle chassis, although it is currently being promoted with the proven Rh-120/L55A1.