South Korean K1 and K2 Family

The South Korean K1 family of main battle tanks (MBT) forms the backbone of the Republic of Korean Army’s (ROKA) armoured vehicle fleet.

The K1 bears more than a passing resemblance to the American M1 Abrams. The reason for this is that, in 1980, South Korea selected General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS), the manufacturer of the Abrams, to help design its new MBT because it had no prior experience in developing such armoured vehicles. This led to the K1 sometimes being called a ‘baby Abrams’.

The K1 has evolved through various upgrades – K1E1, K1A1 and K1A2 – into the latest sophisticated K2 main battle tank. We take a look at of these members of the family as well as the specialist ARV, AVLB and the latest AEV just bring introduced into service.