Commanders!
We’re happy to announce that the second vehicle of the upcoming Battle Path will be the North Korean Cheonma-2 Main Battle Tank.
When it comes to countries, North Korea is as mysterious as it gets. Ever since the factual end of the Korean War in 1953 (which never actually ended for the North Koreans), the country’s been in what amounts to a lockdown with very few foreigners coming in (and even fewer coming out). The fact that they managed to build something that even resembles modern military industry while being so isolated is nothing short of a miracle and each such advancement was paid for dearly.
Nevertheless, it is a fact that more advanced weapons have been showing up as of late during their notorious military parades. These advances can be attributed to pretty much two sources:
- Industrial espionage (which North Korea excels in)
- Foreign countries trading technology for whatever North Korea can offer (from gun shells to raw materials)
One such weapon system that’s been making rounds lately is, of course, the Cheonma-2 Main Battle Tank, often referred to as “M2020”, which is a western media unofficial designation based on the fact that it was first seen during a 2020 military parade to celebrate the 75th anniversary of North Korea’s Worker Party. The tank caused quite a stir despite clearly being (back then) an unfinished mock-up.
Judging by the shape of the hull and the engine bay, the tank is some kind of a variant of the odd T-62/T-72 hybrid platform that led to the Chonma-ho series of tanks and the Seon’gun-915 (that appeared in 2009). Given the state of North Korean metallurgy, the armor is very likely inferior to the current generation MBTs but it is enhanced by a hard-kill APS and tiles of unknown ERA. The vehicle allegedly weighs some 55 tons and has a crew of four men (despite the gun being automatically loaded).
The tank is armed with what is likely a 125mm smoothbore cannon and, in a fashion typical for North Korean MBTs, a missile launcher (likely firing Bulsae-5 ATGMs that are said to be similar to Russian Kornet in power). The tank is also reportedly equipped with an unusually advanced Fire Control System that is based on Russian technology. Some sources claim the tank is powered by a 1200hp variant of the Russian V-46 engine.
In May 2024, it was discovered that the tank was in active service already and is fully functional, judging from a number of photos of a military exercise. Its name was also revealed recently – Cheonma-2. Given the speed with which the vehicle appeared, one can only wonder how the North Koreans gained the technologies to do so (although the answer is perhaps not that difficult to deduce). There are rumors of mass-production but only about 9 vehicles of this type have been seen during a single occasion, which likely means more do not exist yet. And that’s roughly what’s known about this tank. Even the name itself is a bit sketchy because it was gleaned from a low-resolution photo of some North Korean presentation. But such is the way of western North Korean military vehicle research – few things are certain. What is certain, however, is the following:
In Armored Warfare, the Cheonma-2 will be a Tier 10 Premium Main Battle Tank.
In a way, the Cheonma-2 will be the opposite of the previously announced VN20. Despite the presence of ERA, its armor will not be as thick as that of the Armata. It’s not that the tank will be completely unprotected but it won’t be able to take as much punishment as the traditional first-line MBTs. It’ll have both soft-kill and hard-kill APS (modeled after Armata’s Afganit though).
But, as you can probably see from the photos and the screenshots, the Cheonma-2 will be a real heavy hitter thanks to its multiple weapon systems. Its gameplay will resemble that of the Seon’gun-915 MBT. It’ll have multiple weapon systems and the key to successful gameplay is switching between them to maximize your damage output. The following weapons will be present:
- 125mm M2020 smoothbore cannon (with the usual complement of shells, including Chinese tandem HEAT round)
- Bulsae-5 ATGM launcher (two tubes, roughly equivalent to Russian Kornet – tandem HEAT missile with a thermobaric variant that can be unlocked by playing the Battle Path, no double launch though)
- 30mm grenade launcher with enhanced performance (also needs to be unlocked)
And, of course, a machinegun. And the vehicle will be quite mobile too thanks to its 1200hp engine. It’ll be a great choice for those who prefer firepower over protection but the fact you need to effectively rotate weapons to reach the maximum output will make it more suitable for advanced players rather than newbies.
We hope you’ll enjoy it and, as always:
See you on the battlefield!