It also launches the unique KSTAM-II (Korean Smart Top-Attack Munition), which follows an artillery trajectory and slows itself with a parachute to maneuver toward an opposing tank. Its modern successor, the K2, boasts state-of-the-art agility as it cruises at over 40 miles per hour while rapid-firing a devastating salvo of 120mm rounds. It has been Korea’s “next generation tank” since 2014, though its history traces back to the late 1970s. The South Korean-built K2 was developed by a subsidiary of the Hyundai Motor Group. The South Korean K2 Black PantherĪt $8.5 million per unit, Korea’s K2 Black Panther is one of the world’s most expensive battle tanks. Since the first functional tank was built, a 3.5 mile-per-hour speedster named Little Willie, iconic defensive technology has captured the imagination and astonishment of the world.īelow, we explore some of the most powerful battle tanks around the world. Historically, the defense sector has been at the forefront of advance. Impressive technological advancements continually inspire awe as feats once thought impossible come to fruition. Sign up here to get the day’s top stories delivered straight to your inbox. Here's your chance to rank the most powerful and important WW1 tanks.Welcome to Thomas Insights - every day, we publish the latest news and analysis to keep our readers up to date on what’s happening in industry. Armored commanders didn't understand how best to deploy them, and those Mark I's were used piecemeal, giving Germany time to adapt, develop tank-killing weapons, and eventually their own tanks.īy the time the war ended, thousands of tanks had been built, and both sides were developing faster and heavier models that would have been instrumental in breaking the stalemate on the Western Front.

In practice, tanks of the First World War didn't work exactly the way they were meant to, with the machines being slow, prone to breakdowns, and most importantly, often deadly to their crews. They deployed the first tank, the Mark I, in September, 1916, and the world was forever changed. The British realized that they'd need new technology to break the stalemate, and began the 'Landship Project' to develop the equivalent of a ship to operate on land. World War 1 tanks were the first in history, great machines armed with cannons and machine guns, and designed to plow through barbed wire and trenches.

Most powerfull and modern war tank