Challenger 2 vs K2 Black Panther: Specs Compared

British Challenger 2 during Exercise Saif Sareea 3 in Oman.

ATanks

Challenger 2

Main battle tank

Reference photo · Configuration may differ

Credit

Ministry of Defence (UK) / Wikimedia Commons · OGL v1.0 · Source ↗ · Modified

K2 Black Panther — licensed reference photograph

BTanks

K2 Black Panther

Main battle tank

Reference photo · Configuration may differ

Credit

Staff Sgt. Jason Cochran · Public domain · Resized · Public domain · Source ↗ · Modified

First system

Second system

At a glance

Side by side

Length comparisonOne shared metre scale

Challenger 2Gun forward

13.5 m

Length source ↗

K2 Black PantherOverall

10.8 m

Length source ↗

Lengths retain their source configuration and measurement scope.

Challenger 2larger figure on 0 of 1

None

K2 Black Pantherlarger figure on 1 of 1

Width+3%

Counts only measures both sources give with the same scope. A larger figure is not a better system.

Measured figures

Head to head

24 of 32 rows sourced on both sides

13.5mGun forward

10.8mOverall

LengthScopes differ

All recorded figures & sources

13.5 m

Gun forward

Single source

8.3 m

Length

Single source

8.3 m (27 ft 3 in), 13.5 m (44 ft 3 in) gun forward^[source]

7.5 m

Chassis

Single source

10.8 m

Overall

Single source

Overall: 10.8 meters (35 ft 5 in) Chassis : 7.5 meters (24 ft 7 in)^[source]

3.5m

3.6m

Width+3%

All recorded figures & sources

3.5 m

Width

Single source

4.2 m

with appliqué armour

Single source

3.5 m (11 ft 6 in), 4.2 m (13 ft 9 in) with appliqué armour^[source]

3.6 m

Width

Single source

3.6 meters (11 ft 10 in)^[source]

2.49m

2.4mHighest

Height

All recorded figures & sources

2.49 m

Height

Single source

2.49 m (8 ft 2 in)^[source]

2.4 m

Highest

Single source

2 m

Lowest

Single source

Highest: 2.4 meters (7 ft 10 in) Lowest: 2 meters (6 ft 7 in)^[source]

75twith combat armour modules

56tCombat weight

MassScopes differ

All recorded figures & sources

62,500 kg

Base mass; excludes the separately stated 75-tonne add-on armour configuration

Single source

64,000 kg

Mass

Single source

75,000 kg

with combat armour modules

Single source

64 t (63 long tons ; 71 short tons ), 75 t (74 long tons; 83 short tons) with combat armour modules^[source]

56,000 kg

Combat weight

Single source

55,000 kg

Curb weight

Single source

Curb weight : 55 metric tons (54 long tons; 61 short tons) Combat weight: 56 metric tons (55 long tons; 62 short tons)^[source]

3commander, gunner and driver

CrewScopes differ

All recorded figures & sources

4 people

commander, gunner, loader–operator, driver

Single source

4 people

Commander, loader, gunner and driver

Single source

4 (commander, gunner, loader–operator, driver)^[source]

3 people

commander, gunner and driver

Single source

3 (commander, gunner and driver)^[source]

59km/hMaximum; Maximum road speed

70km/hMaximum; Paved road

SpeedScopes differ

All recorded figures & sources

59 km/h

Maximum; Maximum road speed

Single source

40 km/h

Maximum; Off-road

Single source

59 km/h

Maximum; On road

Single source

37 mph (59 km/h) on-road, 25 mph (40 km/h) off-road^[source]

50 km/h

Maximum; Cross country Acceleration from

Single source

70 km/h

Maximum; Paved road

Single source

Paved road: 70 km/h (43 mph) Cross country: 50 km/h (31 mph) Acceleration from 0–32 km/h (0–20 mph) in 7.47 seconds (MT883 Ka-501) or 8.77 seconds (DV27K)^[source]

550kmOperational; On road

450kmOperational; Operational range

RangeScopes differ

All recorded figures & sources

250 km

Operational; off-road on internal fuel

Single source

550 km

Operational; On road

Single source

550 km

Road range; internal fuel

Single source

550 km (340 mi) on-road, 250 km (160 mi) off-road on internal fuel^[source]

450 km

Operational; Operational range

Single source

450 km (280 mi)^[source]

890–1,120kW

1,110kWEngine

PowerScopes differ

All recorded figures & sources

890–1,120 kW

Perkins CV12-6A V12 diesel 26.1 L (1,590 cu in)

Single source

Perkins CV12-6A V12 diesel 26.1 L (1,590 cu in) 1,200–1,500 bhp (890–1,120 kW)^[source]

1,103 kW

Batch I: STX Engine/ MTU Friedrichshafen MT883 Ka-501 4- short stroke , 12-cylinder water-cooled diesel, dry weight: 2,064 kg Batch II-IV: HD Hyundai Infracore DV27K 4- long stroke , 12-cylinder water-cooled diesel, dry weight: 2,550 kg

Single source

1,110 kW

Engine

Single source

Batch I: STX Engine/ MTU Friedrichshafen MT883 Ka-501 4- short stroke , 12-cylinder water-cooled diesel, dry weight: 2,064 kg 1,500 hp (1,103 kW) Batch II-IV: HD Hyundai Infracore DV27K 4- long stroke , 12-cylinder water-cooled diesel, dry weight: 2,550 kg 1,500 hp (1,110 kW)^[source]

120mmL30A1 main armament bore

—

Calibre

Bars compare reported quantities only. A larger figure does not make a system better; configurations and test conditions differ.

Configuration

Details

Challenger 2 and K2 Black Panther configuration
Specification	Challenger 2	K2 Black Panther
Type	Main battle tank^[source]	Main battle tank^[source]
Place of origin	United Kingdom^[source]	South Korea^[source]
In service	1998–present^[source]	2014–present^[source]
Used by	British Army Royal Army of Oman Ukrainian Ground Forces^[source]	See Operators^[source]
Wars	UNMIBH Kosovo War Iraq War Russo-Ukrainian War^[source]	—
Designer	Vickers Defence Systems^[source]	Agency for Defense Development Hyundai Rotem Poongsan Corporation Hanwha Systems Samyang Comtech Hyundai WIA Doosan Mottrol^[source]
Designed	1986–1993^[source]	1995–2008^[source]
Manufacturer	Alvis plc Vickers plc BAE Systems Land & Armaments^[source]	Hyundai Rotem^[source]
Unit cost	£4,217,000 (FY 1999)^[source]	₩ 7.8 billion (production batch 1) US$ 8.5 million (constant 2009 USD)^[source]
Produced	1990 (prototypes) 1993–2002 (main production)^[source]	2008–present^[source]
No. built	about 447^[source]	Republic of Korea Army : Batch I: 100, Batch II: 106, Batch III: 54, Batch IV: 150 (ordered) Polish Land Forces : Batch I: 180, Batch II: 180 (ordered) Total: 440^[source]
Armour	Chobham / Dorchester Level 2 (classified)^[source]	—
Main armament	L30A1 120 mm rifled gun with 47 rounds^[source]	Hyundai WIA CN08 120 mm 55 caliber smoothbore gun (40 rounds, 16 available in the bustle autoloader )^[source]
Secondary armament	7.62 mm coaxial L94A1 chain gun 7.62 mm L37A2 loader–operator hatch machine gun^[source]	1× 12.7×99mm NATO K6 heavy machine gun (3,200 rounds) 1× 7.62×51mm NATO coaxial machine gun (12,000 rounds)^[source]
Power/weight	18.7 hp/t (13.9 kW/t) at 64 t; 16 hp/t (11.9 kW/t) at 75 t^[source]	27.3 hp/t (20.35 kW/t)^[source]
Transmission	David Brown TN54E epicyclic transmission (6 fwd., 2 rev.)^[source]	Batch I-III: RENK HSWL 295 TM (5 forward, 5 reverse gears), dry weight: 2,450 kg Batch IV: SNT Dynamics EST15K (6 forward, 3 reverse gears), dry weight: 2,500 kg^[source]
Suspension	Hydropneumatic^[source]	Semi-active in-arm suspension unit (ISU) with dynamic track tension system (DTTS)^[source]
Ground clearance	0.5 m (1 ft 8 in)^[source]	—
Fuel capacity	1,592 litres (350 imp gal; 421 US gal)^[source]	1,296 liters (342 U.S. gal)^[source]
Armor	—	MIL-12560H armor steel and silicon carbide non-oxide ceramic plate along with ERA add-on armor^[source]
Reported operators	Reported operator · United Kingdom Reported operator · Oman Reported operator · Ukraine	—

FORCETALLY

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Challenger 2

K2 Black Panther

Type

Main battle tank^[source]

Place of origin

United Kingdom^[source]

South Korea^[source]

In service

1998–present^[source]

2014–present^[source]

Used by

British Army Royal Army of Oman Ukrainian Ground Forces^[source]

See Operators^[source]

Wars

UNMIBH Kosovo War Iraq War Russo-Ukrainian War^[source]

—

Designer

Vickers Defence Systems^[source]

Agency for Defense Development Hyundai Rotem Poongsan Corporation Hanwha Systems Samyang Comtech Hyundai WIA Doosan Mottrol^[source]

Designed

1986–1993^[source]

1995–2008^[source]

Manufacturer

Alvis plc Vickers plc BAE Systems Land & Armaments^[source]

Hyundai Rotem^[source]

Unit cost

£4,217,000 (FY 1999)^[source]

₩ 7.8 billion (production batch 1) US$ 8.5 million (constant 2009 USD)^[source]

Produced

1990 (prototypes) 1993–2002 (main production)^[source]

2008–present^[source]

No. built

about 447^[source]

Republic of Korea Army : Batch I: 100, Batch II: 106, Batch III: 54, Batch IV: 150 (ordered) Polish Land Forces : Batch I: 180, Batch II: 180 (ordered) Total: 440^[source]

Armour

Chobham / Dorchester Level 2 (classified)^[source]

—

Main armament

L30A1 120 mm rifled gun with 47 rounds^[source]

Hyundai WIA CN08 120 mm 55 caliber smoothbore gun (40 rounds, 16 available in the bustle autoloader )^[source]

Secondary armament

7.62 mm coaxial L94A1 chain gun 7.62 mm L37A2 loader–operator hatch machine gun^[source]

1× 12.7×99mm NATO K6 heavy machine gun (3,200 rounds) 1× 7.62×51mm NATO coaxial machine gun (12,000 rounds)^[source]

Power/weight

18.7 hp/t (13.9 kW/t) at 64 t; 16 hp/t (11.9 kW/t) at 75 t^[source]

27.3 hp/t (20.35 kW/t)^[source]

Transmission

David Brown TN54E epicyclic transmission (6 fwd., 2 rev.)^[source]

Batch I-III: RENK HSWL 295 TM (5 forward, 5 reverse gears), dry weight: 2,450 kg Batch IV: SNT Dynamics EST15K (6 forward, 3 reverse gears), dry weight: 2,500 kg^[source]

Suspension

Hydropneumatic^[source]

Semi-active in-arm suspension unit (ISU) with dynamic track tension system (DTTS)^[source]

Ground clearance

0.5 m (1 ft 8 in)^[source]

—

Fuel capacity

1,592 litres (350 imp gal; 421 US gal)^[source]

1,296 liters (342 U.S. gal)^[source]

Armor

—

MIL-12560H armor steel and silicon carbide non-oxide ceramic plate along with ERA add-on armor^[source]

Reported operators

Reported operator · United Kingdom
Reported operator · Oman
Reported operator · Ukraine

—