Korean Infantry Fighting Vehicle
Encyclopedia
The K200 KIFV is a Republic of Korea infantry fighting vehicle
, originally produced by Daewoo Heavy Industries
(now part of Doosan Group
), intended as a domestic replacement to older armored personnel carriers such as M113 that were in main line of service with the Republic of Korea Armed Forces at the time of K200's development. The K200 was supplemented by the K21 since 2009 in South Korea. a total of 2,383 K200 vehicles of all configurations were produced between 1985 and 2006, among which 111 K200A1 vehicles had been exported to Malaysia.
issued a request for a new Korean Infantry Fighting Vehicle (KIFV) to meet future combat requirements. The Agency for Defense Development was in charge of its development, and Daewoo Heavy Industries
(now part of Doosan Group
) was the prime contractor for the production of this vehicle. The K200 was designed to be an amphibious personnel carrier that could cross shallow rivers, based on the chassis
of the American Armored Infantry Fighting Vehicle
. The AIFV itself was based on the M113 armored personnel carrier
. The vehicle was developed to be more affordable than the AIFV, but not necessarily sacrificing capability, to gain an edge in cost-effectiveness. The eventual domestic development and production of the K200 achieved a price range of $1.32 million to $1.41 million as opposed to the $1.52 million to $2.83 million price range that a license-production or direct importation of the AIFV would have entailed.
Doosan incorporated the MAN D2848T engine into the K200 under a license-production deal and assimilated its technology using domestic components, a reverse-engineering experience that would prove instrumental in the development of its next IFV, the K21. S&T Dynamics
was the licensee subcontractor for the Allison Transmission
X200-5K gearbox. The vehicle entered production in 1985. Serial production was completed in 2006.
The K200 has six electrically operated smoke grenade launchers mounted across the front of the hull as countermeasures against electro-optical
and infrared
targeting. If the KIFV variant features a turret, the smoke grenade launchers mount on the turret (three on each side).
K200 can provide infantry firepower support with 12.7mm and 7.62mm machine guns. Stronger anti-infantry
and anti-material
firepower can be brought to bear by equipping a 20mm Vulcan gun, or 82mm and 107mm mortars. Anti-tank
capability can be added by equipping the Metis-M anti-tank missile system. The K200 is highly modular
, and its variants provide additional combat supports such as air defense and vehicle recovery by outfitting many different equipments. The vehicles accommodate 12 people including one infantry squad, the driver, and gunners.
upgraded variant of the base K200 with more powerful engines and transmission. The upgrade also added NBC protection and automatic fire extinguishing system.
K263A1, Self-Propelled Vulcan
Combined air defense and IFV variant of the K200A1. The radar-guided 20 mm Vulcan
is effective against both 'soft' ground targets and low-flying aircraft.
K216A1, NBC Reconnaissance Vehicle
Equipped with detection equipments to trace sources of NBC agents.
K242A1 / K281A1, Mortar Carrier
Carries 81mm or 107mm mortar for fire support.
K277A1, Command Post Vehicle
Possesses command and control equipments for a field commander.
K288A1, Recovery Vehicle
Rescues and repairs damaged armored vehicles.
K221A1, Smoke Generation Vehicle
Can produce smoke screen to provide battlefield cover. Works against both visual and infrared
sighting devices.
Armored Ambulance Vehicle
Functions as an armored ambulance. It is equipped with four litter sets, two automatic oxygen resuscitators and two splinter sets.
K30 Biho, Self-propelled AAA
Dedicated self-propelled anti-aircraft artillery variant of the K200, with more powerful engines, transmissions, and armaments.
Infantry fighting vehicle
An infantry fighting vehicle , also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle , is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to carry infantry into battle and provide fire support for them...
, originally produced by Daewoo Heavy Industries
Daewoo
Daewoo or the Daewoo Group was a major South Korean chaebol . It was founded on 22 March 1967 as Daewoo Industrial and was dismantled by the Korean government in 1999...
(now part of Doosan Group
Doosan Group
Doosan Group is a South Korean conglomerate quoted on the Korea Stock Exchange. Doosan has been placed 471st in the Fortune 2009. It has been included in the Forbes Global 2000 companies from 2007. It had recently acquired SKODA power thus making it a full swing in power plant global competitors...
), intended as a domestic replacement to older armored personnel carriers such as M113 that were in main line of service with the Republic of Korea Armed Forces at the time of K200's development. The K200 was supplemented by the K21 since 2009 in South Korea. a total of 2,383 K200 vehicles of all configurations were produced between 1985 and 2006, among which 111 K200A1 vehicles had been exported to Malaysia.
History
The K200 project began in 1981 when the Republic of Korea ArmyRepublic of Korea Army
The Republic of Korea Army is the largest of the military branches of the South Korean armed forces with 520,000 members as of 2010...
issued a request for a new Korean Infantry Fighting Vehicle (KIFV) to meet future combat requirements. The Agency for Defense Development was in charge of its development, and Daewoo Heavy Industries
Daewoo
Daewoo or the Daewoo Group was a major South Korean chaebol . It was founded on 22 March 1967 as Daewoo Industrial and was dismantled by the Korean government in 1999...
(now part of Doosan Group
Doosan Group
Doosan Group is a South Korean conglomerate quoted on the Korea Stock Exchange. Doosan has been placed 471st in the Fortune 2009. It has been included in the Forbes Global 2000 companies from 2007. It had recently acquired SKODA power thus making it a full swing in power plant global competitors...
) was the prime contractor for the production of this vehicle. The K200 was designed to be an amphibious personnel carrier that could cross shallow rivers, based on the chassis
Chassis
A chassis consists of an internal framework that supports a man-made object. It is analogous to an animal's skeleton. An example of a chassis is the underpart of a motor vehicle, consisting of the frame with the wheels and machinery.- Vehicles :In the case of vehicles, the term chassis means the...
of the American Armored Infantry Fighting Vehicle
AIFV
The AIFV is a tracked light armored vehicle which serves as an infantry fighting vehicle in the armies of several countries. It is a development of the M113A1 armored personnel carrier.-History:...
. The AIFV itself was based on the M113 armored personnel carrier
M113 armored personnel carrier
The M113 is a fully tracked armored personnel carrier that has formed the backbone of the United States Army's mechanized infantry units from the time of its first fielding in Vietnam in April 1962. The M113 was the most widely used armored vehicle of the U.S...
. The vehicle was developed to be more affordable than the AIFV, but not necessarily sacrificing capability, to gain an edge in cost-effectiveness. The eventual domestic development and production of the K200 achieved a price range of $1.32 million to $1.41 million as opposed to the $1.52 million to $2.83 million price range that a license-production or direct importation of the AIFV would have entailed.
Doosan incorporated the MAN D2848T engine into the K200 under a license-production deal and assimilated its technology using domestic components, a reverse-engineering experience that would prove instrumental in the development of its next IFV, the K21. S&T Dynamics
S&T Dynamics
S&T Dynamics is a South Korean weapons, windpower, auto parts and casting and machine tools manufacturer founded in 1959. Its heavy weapons equip most frontline units of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces.- History :...
was the licensee subcontractor for the Allison Transmission
Allison Transmission
Allison Transmission is an American manufacturer of commercial duty automatic transmissions and hybrid propulsion systems. Allison products are specified by over 250 of the world’s leading vehicle manufacturers and are used in many market sectors including bus, refuse, fire, construction,...
X200-5K gearbox. The vehicle entered production in 1985. Serial production was completed in 2006.
General Characteristics
The K200 series of vehicles transport mechanized infantry platoon safe from the enemy’s light weapons. The hull of the KIFV is of all-welded aluminium armour with an additional layer of spaced laminate steel armour bolted to it. This composite armour provides a higher level of protection for less weight. It can protect against 12.7mm on the side and 7.62mm on the rear, and against anti-personnel mines. The engine compartment is located at the front right of the vehicle and is separated from the remainder of the vehicle by a bulkhead. The engine compartment is fitted with a fire extinguishing system that can be operated by the driver or from outside the vehicle. The air inlet, air outlet louvres and the exhaust pipe are located on the roof of the vehicle to allow amphibious operations.The K200 has six electrically operated smoke grenade launchers mounted across the front of the hull as countermeasures against electro-optical
Electro-optical MASINT
Electro-optical MASINT is a subdiscipline of Measurement and Signature Intelligence, and refers to intelligence gathering activities which bring together disparate elements that do not fit within the definitions of Signals Intelligence , Imagery Intelligence , or Human Intelligence...
and infrared
Infrared
Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...
targeting. If the KIFV variant features a turret, the smoke grenade launchers mount on the turret (three on each side).
K200 can provide infantry firepower support with 12.7mm and 7.62mm machine guns. Stronger anti-infantry
Anti-personnel weapon
An anti-personnel weapon is one primarily used to incapacitate people, as opposed to attacking structures or vehicles.The development of defensive fortification and combat vehicles gave rise to weapons designed specifically to attack them, and thus a need to distinguish between those systems and...
and anti-material
Anti-materiel rifle
An anti-materiel rifle is a rifle that is designed for use against military equipment rather than against other combatants ....
firepower can be brought to bear by equipping a 20mm Vulcan gun, or 82mm and 107mm mortars. Anti-tank
Anti-tank warfare
Anti-tank warfare was created by the need to seek technology and tactics to destroy tanks and their supporting infantry during the First World War...
capability can be added by equipping the Metis-M anti-tank missile system. The K200 is highly modular
Modularity
Modularity is a general systems concept, typically defined as a continuum describing the degree to which a system’s components may be separated and recombined. It refers to both the tightness of coupling between components, and the degree to which the “rules” of the system architecture enable the...
, and its variants provide additional combat supports such as air defense and vehicle recovery by outfitting many different equipments. The vehicles accommodate 12 people including one infantry squad, the driver, and gunners.
Variants
K200A1, Infantry Fighting Vehicleupgraded variant of the base K200 with more powerful engines and transmission. The upgrade also added NBC protection and automatic fire extinguishing system.
K263A1, Self-Propelled Vulcan
Combined air defense and IFV variant of the K200A1. The radar-guided 20 mm Vulcan
M61 Vulcan
The M61 Vulcan is a hydraulically or pneumatically driven, six-barreled, air-cooled, electrically fired Gatling-style rotary cannon which fires 20 mm rounds at an extremely high rate. The M61 and its derivatives have been the principal cannon armament of United States military fixed-wing aircraft...
is effective against both 'soft' ground targets and low-flying aircraft.
K216A1, NBC Reconnaissance Vehicle
Equipped with detection equipments to trace sources of NBC agents.
K242A1 / K281A1, Mortar Carrier
Carries 81mm or 107mm mortar for fire support.
K277A1, Command Post Vehicle
Possesses command and control equipments for a field commander.
K288A1, Recovery Vehicle
Rescues and repairs damaged armored vehicles.
K221A1, Smoke Generation Vehicle
Can produce smoke screen to provide battlefield cover. Works against both visual and infrared
Infrared
Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...
sighting devices.
Armored Ambulance Vehicle
Functions as an armored ambulance. It is equipped with four litter sets, two automatic oxygen resuscitators and two splinter sets.
K30 Biho, Self-propelled AAA
Dedicated self-propelled anti-aircraft artillery variant of the K200, with more powerful engines, transmissions, and armaments.
See also
- M113 armored personnel carrierM113 armored personnel carrierThe M113 is a fully tracked armored personnel carrier that has formed the backbone of the United States Army's mechanized infantry units from the time of its first fielding in Vietnam in April 1962. The M113 was the most widely used armored vehicle of the U.S...
- Armored Infantry Fighting Vehicle (AIFV)AIFVThe AIFV is a tracked light armored vehicle which serves as an infantry fighting vehicle in the armies of several countries. It is a development of the M113A1 armored personnel carrier.-History:...
- Egyptian Infantry Fighting VehicleEgyptian Infantry Fighting VehicleThe Egyptian Infantry Fighting Vehicle , also known as Infantry Fighting Vehicle Light , is an Egyptian modification of the M113 Armored Personnel Carrier. It is a hybrid, based on an enlarged M113 chassis equipped with the complete two-man power-operated turret of the M2 Bradley IFV...
- ACV-300 - Turkish built version of the AIFV
- Military of South KoreaMilitary of South KoreaThe Republic of Korea Armed Forces or ROK Armed Forces, is the armed forces of the Republic of Korea...
- List of military equipment of Republic of Korea