North Korea’s defence sector has lengthy been among the many most self sufficient on this planet significantly amongst these of smaller international locations, and though it is most well-known merchandise have included weapons of mass destruction, ballistic missiles, submarines and a nationwide community of hardened tunnel fortifications, it additionally produces a variety of extra typical belongings. Apart from the air power, all branches of the nation’s armed forces rely predominantly on home armaments significantly for newer weapons methods the place indigenous manufacturing was established extra just lately. In the course of the early phases of the Korean Battle battle tanks have been a big and properly used asset which, in line with American reviews, have been instrumental in permitting a North Korean power of 70,000 personnel to interact and repeatedly defeat a South Korean and American mixed power of over 140,000 within the battle’s opening months. The nation’s armed forces have continued to put money into armoured warfare alongside in depth uneven capabilities ever since, creating a number of indigenous battle tanks, heavy artillery items and anti armour munitions.
Having produced and exported the Chon’ma Ho within the Eighties, which was very carefully based mostly on the Soviet T-62, North Korea sought to develop a brand new tank class to counter the extra trendy tanks being deployed by South Korea and the US. The Pokpung Ho, in any other case referred to as Chonma-215 and Chonma-216 relying on the variant, was thus developed with a wholly new turret and closely modified elongated hull with two further wheels. In any other case referred to as the Songun Ho, the design was closely influenced by the applied sciences of the profitable Soviet T-72 and T-80 major battle tanks, the previous which is at the moment in service in roughly 40 international locations and continues to type the spine of Russian armoured models. The tank was notably unveiled after visits by figures within the North Korean management to the Russian Uralvagonzavod tank manufacturing facility, fuelling hypothesis that the car may have been influenced by Russia’s newest tank class on the time the T-90A. Though no acquisitions of post-Soviet tank lessons are recognized to have been made, expertise transfers from Russia have been extensively speculated. The tank’s design notably started at a time when the Soviet Union was approving a number of expertise transfers to Pyongyang significantly within the defence sector in areas starting from fight plane and air defence methods to nuclear applied sciences, and there’s a vital risk that it benefitted from these transfers significantly because the USSR had beforehand supported the Chonma Ho program.
The Pokpung Ho makes use of composite armour, turret reactive armour and laser warning receivers, with newer fashions seen carrying floor to air missile launchers, Bulsae-3 anti armour ATGM launchers and twin grenade launchers. Its 1200hp engine is believed to offer excessive mobility significantly as a result of tank’s comparatively gentle weight. It stays unsure whether or not the Pokpung Ho or different trendy Korean tanks have gun launched anti-tank guided missiles, and the way a lot the standard of those and of their HEAT rounds has progressed for the reason that Chilly Battle period. Basic traits within the nation’s defence sector would counsel that North Korea’s trendy penetrative rounds are comparatively succesful to enhance the mixing of a brand new era of major weapons onto its tanks. Alongside missiles the Pokpung Ho is armed with a heavy KPV anti-aircraft machine gun, a coaxial machine gun and 4 smoke grenade launchers. Its main armament is a 125 mm smoothbore gun, which is identical calibre that has been used on all prime finish Soviet and Russian tanks for the reason that Nineteen Sixties and on most greater finish Chinese language tanks for the reason that Nineteen Nineties.
The Pokpung Ho tank boasts restricted evening combating capabilities together with infrared sensors, a laser rangefinder and a searchlight. The shortage of contemporary thermal sights, nonetheless, are doubtless the design’s main weak spot. With the Korean tank’s main weak spot being its sensors, the chance that new tanks could possibly be employed in command roles alongside them may function a power multiplier for older Pokpung Ho and Chonma Ho models. This might mirror how Russia, earlier than extensively using tanks with thermal sights, used its first tanks with such sights the T-80UKs as command tanks for T-80 models. An additional shortcoming relative to Russian and South Korean designs, which it shares with American, British and German tanks, is the dearth of an autoloader which reduces its charge of fireplace and will increase crew necessities by one third.
How the Pokpung Ho would fare in a battle on the Korean Peninsula can solely be speculated, however the tank has been engineered particularly for conflict in Korea’s mountainous terrain. Though it’s a third era tank and makes use of a gun calibre much like that of the T-72/90, its chassis may be very loosely based mostly on that of the T-62 which had decrease upkeep necessities and operational prices. In a position to climb and fireplace from excessive slopes past the capabilities of most tanks may give the car a big benefit significantly towards heavier automobiles such because the American M1 Abrams, which not like the Pokpung Ho would wrestle to make use of mountain roads and bridges. At 70-80 tons, relying on configuration, the Abrams is near twice has heavy and has properly over double the gasoline consumption. Though the Pokpung Ho is newer than any Western design, in fields such armour safety and sensors it’s regarded as significantly behind the newest variants of adversary automobiles. In opposition to prime finish South Korean K2 Black Panther tanks its disadvantages could also be overwhelming, and if going through excessive finish threats the North Korean tank may depend on working in mountains to achieve a bonus.
The Pokpung Ho is predicted to see manufacturing terminated within the close to future, if this has not occurred already, because the Korean Individuals’s Army strikes to area a new era of tanks which bear a really free resemblance to the Russian T-14 and are imagined to have subsequent era capabilities. The choice to develop a brand new era of tanks was doubtless influenced by the Pokpung Ho’s diminishing capability to go face to face with essentially the most succesful enemy armour. Round 600 tanks are thought to have been produced, which means they really outnumber the T-90s within the Russian Army, with the automobiles set to proceed to type the spine of North Korean frontline tank divisions for years to return. Their manufacturing performed an essential position in facilitating the phasing out of ageing Chilly Battle period platforms such because the T-55 from frontline service. The tank’s capability to operate as an air defence platform is closely influenced by North Korea’s defence doctrine, which prioritises equipping all elements of its armed forces together with infantry with floor to air capabilities to compensate for the relative weak spot of the nation’s air power. With the quantity of reactive armour seen on the tanks having elevated over time, North Korea’s defence business is predicted to proceed to modernise the Pokpung Ho chassis with new safety methods, munitions and presumably enhanced engines, though with the automobiles not anticipated to seem in future parades these shall be harder to trace.
