The need for a rearmed Europe is one of the conclusions reached by the West after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and something that the NATO countries have certified at their last summit in Madrid. One of the countries that has to catch up most quickly in military investment is Germany. In this context, the German arms industry has launched a new tank model – a battle tank for purists – with the highest technology available and with a futuristic look. His name is Panther, from the Rheinmentall company.
However, one of the aspects that has attracted the most attention among experts and the military has surprisingly fallen on the semantic aspect. Panther is the same name with which the Third Rich German war industry baptized the lethal and iconic Panzer V Panther tank that entered service in 1943 and that, together with the Panzer VI Tiger, was a nightmare for the allies at the time.
The Panther recently presented to the world market is a tank that exceeds 50 tons. In terms of motorization and chain, it inherits modern equipment that has already been extensively tested in other vehicles.
The main novelties of this new tank are its large-caliber self-loading cannon and self-defense mechanisms to deal with modern anti-tank ammunition that has proven so effective in Ukraine, leaving out Russian armored combat, as well as the havoc caused by different types of drones.
The tank is significantly vulnerable at the top because the turret and cab are often heavily armored. That is why aerial attacks with missiles or loitering drones that automatically choose targets, or even kamikaze drones, are the great enemies of these war vehicles.
To do this, the Panther has a new electronic armor that creates an inhibiting bubble around the tank that disables the intelligent ammunition guidance system and even causes them to collapse when they lose their way.
In addition, the new tank with the old German name has two innovative reconnaissance drone launchers that exponentially increase the vision of the vehicle leader, thus increasing the ability to anticipate threats.
Specialists do not dare to label the Panther as a fifth-generation battle tank – its predecessor the Leopard 2 is fourth-, but they consider it an intermediate step before reaching the tank that Germany and France have begun to design for 2040 and that could be the hegemonic in Europe from that date.
In any case, the Rheinmentall company says it is able to start mass manufacturing the Panther in 30 months. The chances are very high that Germany will have for this futuristic tank part of the 100,000 million euros that Chancellor Olaf Scholz has announced that it will allocate to the modernization and strengthening of its armed forces.
The presentation of the Panther has been very timely for the interests of its designer firm. It inherits a mythical name within European war history that could suggest that Germany has made peace with its past and been faithful to certain traditions. “It’s something they’ve been doing for some time now,” explains Professor Luis V. Pérez Gil, from the University of La Laguna. For example, there is a pair of Luftwaffe (German Air Force) wings bearing the names of two distinguished World War II pilots.”
