An armored vehicle drives through a military base. It even drives through mud easily, without getting stuck. It can carry up to 11 people, including 8 soldiers and 3 crew members. Its name is ‘Redback’ an upgraded version of South Korea’s ‘K-21’. For the past 6 weeks, the South Korean military has been testing it at this army base in Gangwon-do, located northeast of Seoul.
“This ‘Redback’ 42-ton armored vehicle… is equipped with anti-tank guided missiles as you can see right here. It also has radar on all four sides to accurately detect and hit targets.”
It can also be equipped with a 30-millimeter cannon and a 7.6-2 millimeter machine gun.
The Redback is an ‘infantry field vehicle,’ or IFV a type of armored fighting vehicle used to carry infantry into battle while providing direct-fire support.
As for its speed, it can move up to almost 70 kilometers per hour on roads. Even on rough terrains, it can move at around 45 kilometers per hour.
“Right now in Ukraine, many Russian military vehicles are being ∂єѕтяσуed and a lot of them got stuck in mud. So it’s important to have the ‘active protection system’ and a high level of mobility like our Redback.”
The test run is expected to help the South Korean developer export the Redback to other countries, such as the U.S., Australia, and Europe.
“By having our army test this vehicle, we will be able to provide more data based on our experience. So this is going to help our local firm gain the upper hand when competing with other countries in the global defense market.”
The Redback was specially designed to meet the requirements of the Australian Army. It’s currently under review after being shortlisted as one of the final two models for Australia’s project to buy 450 new infantry fighting vehicles. Earlier this year, it went through trials to check its field performance in Australia. The successful bidder will be selected later this year.
Source: http://www.arirang.co.kr/News/News_View.asp?nseq=300259
