- Yes
- No
- North Korea sub-tree in China
- United Korea tree
- Other
- I said no
Unknown official name
Brief History
North Korea has a surprisingly long history of tank and AFV production, with some of their most recent developments being very interesting. During the Korean War, and for a couple decades after, North Korea relied on Soviet hand-me-downs, namely T-34s and SU-76s, as well as small numbers of T-54s. Tank production began in the late 1960s, with domestic production lines for the PT-76 and T-55, which shifted to the Ch’ŏnma (effectively license-produced/reverse-engineered T-62s) in the mid-to-late 1970s.
In 2010, North Korea revealed the ‘M2010’ 8x8 APC, a derivative of the BTR-80 with a number of features from the older BTR-60PBs, alongside a 6x6 version. These vehicles were purely APCs with machine guns for infantry support.
In 2020, North Korea revealed both an ATGM carrier and a fire-support variant of the M2010 during a parade celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Worker’s Party of Korea. Both of these vehicles have been dubbed ‘M2020’, as their official names have not yet been revealed. While the ATGM carrier has been seen during test footage, the fire-support variant, hereafter referred to as ‘8x8 122mm FSV’, has not been seen since. Whether it was simply designed as a parade vehicle, or as a vehicle for mass production, remains to be seen.
Characteristics
The 8x8 122mm FSV mounts a new unmanned turret with what appears to be a 122m D-30 (modified with a fume extractor), as well as what appears to be an autoloader in the rear of the turret. The D-30 can fire a variety of shells, with at least 2 HE rounds, a couple of HEAT-FS rounds (one of which has 460mm penetration), as well as smoke rounds. The gun of the 2S1 Gvozdika is modified from the D-30 and uses the same shells, and so should give a good idea of it’s performance. This 122mm was likely obtained from decommissioned M1977/M1985 122mm artillery platforms on the 323 APC chassis, as the length, muzzle brake, and counterweight match perfectly.
As secondary armament, the 122mm FSV has a single AGS-30 30mm grenade launcher behind the commander’s hatch.
The vehicle appears to have the same gunner sight as the M2020 MBT, which implies thermal imaging. Some have speculated that this means it also has a laser rangefinder, but the laser rangefinder on the M2020 is external and not integrated into the gunner sight, so I find this unlikely.
This specific variant of the FSV appears to have bolt-on add-on armour across the whole vehicle, likely providing a decent level of protection against HMGs, although to what extent is unknown. The vehicle also has some smoke grenades on the turret sides, as well as laser warning receivers above those.
The 122mm FSV, strangely, has 4 crew members: commander (right front), driver (left front), gunner (left of the gun’s mount), and an unknown 4th crew member to the right of the gun mount, next to the grenade launcher. It’s unlikely that the 4th crew member would only be for firing the grenade launcher, but otherwise their purpose is unknown if the vehicle does indeed have an autoloader. They might replenish the ammunition in the autoloader, but this is speculative.
Conclusion
The 8x8 122mm FSV would be a pretty unique vehicle for a North Korean sub-tree. It doesn’t really have any analogues in game – a fast wheeled chassis with an auto-loaded 122mm howitzer, firing high-penetration HEAT-FS, as well as thermals. Truthfully, I have no idea at what BR this could go, likely 7.3+.
Specifications
Armament
- 122mm D-30
- 3OF24 HE
- 3OF56 HE
- 3BK-6M HEAT-FS
- 400mm at 0º
- 3BK-13 HEAT-FS
- 460mm at 0º
- Smoke
- NVDs/thermals
- Autoloader
- AGS-30 30mm grenade launcher
Armour
- Hull
- Front
- Unknown, likely similar to BTR-80A (12mm) + extra unknown thickness
- Sides
- Unknown, likely similar to BTR-80A (8mm) + extra unknown thickness
- Rear
- Unknown, likely similar to BTR-80A (6mm) + extra unknown thickness
- Front
- Turret
- Front
- Unknown
- Sides
- Unknown
- Rear
- Unknown
- Front
Mobility
- Speed
- ~ +90/-14km/h
- Weight
- Unknown, likely similar to BTR-80A (14.6t) + extra weight of add-on armour
- Engine power
- 260hp
Other
- Smoke grenades
- 2x Laser Warning Receivers
Images
Sources