South Korea wants to sell its K2 tank and K9 self-propelled gun to Qatar, even though the latter has German equipment in its arsenal

The Republic of Korea is currently looking for a new buyer for its K2 tanks and K9 self-propelled artillery systems, and this time it is Qatar.

Here's What We Know

The joint exercise between Qatar and South Korea, which took place from 14 to 27 October 2024, was a significant event for both countries.

These were the first exercises in which the South Korean army took part outside the Korean Peninsula. According to Military Balance 2024, the Qatari armed forces have 16,500 personnel, with a tank fleet of 62 Leopard 2A7s and 24 PzH 2000 self-propelled artillery systems (some of which have been transferred to Ukraine).

South Korea has provided four K2 tanks, four K9 self-propelled artillery systems, six support vehicles and 100 soldiers from the 11th Manoeuvre Division for the exercise.

Joint live-fire exercises between the crews of K2 and Leopard 2A7 tanks allowed to test their capabilities, in particular, the accuracy of the K2 at 5 kilometres was 80% and the effective range was 3 kilometres.

In addition, the Qatari military also practised the use of AH-64E Apache attack helicopters and FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missiles.

These exercises provided an opportunity to compare the technical characteristics of K2 and Leopard 2A7 tanks, as well as K9 and PzH 2000 self-propelled artillery systems in real combat conditions.

At the same time, the exercises highlighted the existence of a defence cooperation agreement between Qatar and South Korea, which includes military-technical cooperation. This may indicate South Korea's interest in supplying K2 tanks and K9 self-propelled guns to Qatar.

Source: Defence Express