War in the future will be dominated by drones and artificial intelligence. Although many see the situation in Ukraine as a sign that the main battle tank (MBT) era is over, several new generation MBTs have already been developed by the USA, UK and Germany. In South Korea, Hyundai Rotem Co has shown the latest MBT design that uses hydrogen cells.
The MBT Hyundai Rotem K3 will be equipped with a 130mm smoothbore main cannon, an active defense system, can operate with other drone weapon systems and be equipped with its own drone. The cannon system will also use artificial intelligence (AI) to improve firing accuracy.
More detailed information about the K3 has yet to be announced, but it is targeted to begin operations by 2040, making it the first MBT powered by hydrogen cells. The use of a hydrogen drive train will not only make the K3 quieter when operating but also difficult to detect as it does not have a significant heat trace that makes it a target for ATGM systems.
At this point Hyundai Rotem will develop a hydrogen and diesel hybrid drive system first before developing a full hydrogen cell drive train engine.