K1 88 - Tank The K1 is a main battle tank in use with the South Korean ground forces . The vehicle is based on the design of the M1 Abrams , a product of General Dynamics , while the production is handled domestically in South Korea by Hyundai Precision . History and overview . In the 1970s , Republic of Korea was desperately in need of additional main battle tanks . M4A3E8 " Easy Eight " variant of Sherman tanks , dating back to World War II , had been retired from service by the Republic of Korea Army , and the backbone of the South Korean armor was formed up of M47 and M48 Patton tanks . Meanwhile , North Koreans had both numerical and technological advantages over the South Korean armor with their T - 62 main battle tanks . At first , attempts were made to obtain the United States ' M60A1 Pattons , but ended in a failure . It was deemed that , even if the M60A1s were obtainable , there would not be enough of them to give the South Korean forces a significant advantage over existing North Korean tanks . A number of other plans were also devised , such as upgrading the existing M48 Pattons to the M48A3 and A5 standard , as well as obtaining the license to domestically produce Germany ' s Leopard 1 main battle tank . Only the upgrades to the Pattons were carried out , with the results being the M48A3K and M48A5K , while producing Leopard 1s were deemed as counterproductive as newer generation of main battle tanks were already being developed and tested in both the U . S . and Germany , namely the M1 Abrams and Leopard 2 . In light of this , the Park Chung - hee administration announced plans to domestically produce main battle tanks that were comparable to the newer generation of main battle tanks . However , having absolutely no experience in the design , development and manufacture of main battle tanks to speak of , the task assigned to the South Korean industry was all but impossible . Upon realization , foreign designs were considered and evaluated , with condition being that the winning design be licensed and produced domestically . The winning design was based on the XM1 , the prototype of M1 Abrams , by Chrysler Defense , the company which was later sold to General Dynamics and renamed General Dynamics Land Systems . Soon afterwards , South Korean officials were dispatched to General Dynamics Land Systems for supervision of the design , which would spawn the XK1 . With its design being based on XM1 , the XK1 shared various similarities with it . However , upon closer inspection , numerous differences can be found . The differences included the weight ( 55 ton XM1 versus 51 ton XK1 ) , height ( 2 . 37 m versus 2 . 25 m ) , engine ( 1 , 500 hp Honeywell AGT1500C for XM1 versus 1 , 200 hp Teledyne Continental AVCR - 1790 , also used on Merkava 3 , for XK1 , although the XK1 ' s engine will later be replaced with MTU MB Ka - 501 , a compact version of the 1 , 500 hp MB - 873 Ka - 503 used on Leopard 2 ) , transmission ( Allison DDA X - 1100 - 3B for XM1 versus ZF Friedrichshafen LSG 3000 for XK1 ) , and several other components used in the vehicles . The XK1 retained the XM1 ' s M68E1 105 mm rifled main gun , which would also be domestically produced under license with designtion of KM68 , as well as the fire control system by Hughes Aircraft Company and the rangefinder . One of the major differences was the addition of tank commander ' s independent panoramic sights on XK1 , which was missing on XM1 , giving the XK1 the capability to utilize the FCS more effectively , notably by engaging in Hunter - Killer tactics , which the M1 series could not do until the introduction of M1A2 . The tank commander ' s panoramic sights were not , however , equipped with light amplification or thermal optics , which led to the tank commander having to rely on personal night vision goggles to operate his sights , while the gunner ' s sights were equipped with thermal observation device , which meant that XK1 had superior sensors until the introduction of M1A2 . XK1 tanks are also equipped with a hybrid suspension system consisting of hydropneumatic system on road wheels 1 , 2 and 6 , while 3 , 4 and 5 are equipped with torsion bars , a feature not present on XM1 , granting the XK1 greater stability and ability to elevate and depress the main gun nearly twice as much than tanks equipped with torsion bars alone . ( + 20 to - 9 . 7 degrees for XK1 versus + 10 to - 5 XM1 ) The development of the vehicle was completed in 1983 with a prototype being delivered to the South Korean government in the same year . As mentioned above , however , the AVCR - 1790 used for the design was replaced by MTU MB Ka - 501 just prior to mass production , which resulted in K1 ' s engine deck and exhaust grills becoming cosmetically similar to Leopard 2 ' s . Hyundai Precision , now known as Hyundai Rotem , took the responsibility of manufacturing the tanks , and the mass production began in 1985 , with deployment lasting from the same year to 1987 . The vehicle was not , however , unveiled until 1987 , for security purposes . Foreign journalists were invited to the unveiling ceremony , and a massive training exercise using the new tanks took place during the event for publicity . After the production of approximately 450 K1s , the Gunner ' s Primary Sights ( GPS ) designed by Hughes was replaced by Gunner ' s Primary Tank Thermal Sights ( GPTTS ) by Texas Instruments . The new system also replaced the Nd : YAG laser rangefinder used in the Hughes unit with a CO2 - based one , which has proven to be safer to the users ' eyes , although having less effective range than the former in foul weather . While the exact composition of the armor has still not been released , it has been confirmed that K1 is equipped with composite armor , the Chobham . Automatic fire extinguishing system is present on the vehicle . Engine compartment detector is thermocouple wire , and crew compartment detector is optical sensor . Extinguishant used is Halon1301 , commonly used by western MBT . And , while air conditioning system is installed to aid in crew comfort , the vehicle lacks overpressure system to effectively protect the crew against nuclear , biological , or chemical attacks , requiring the crew to don protective gear while operating in contaminated environment . Production remained at approximately 100 units per year at its peak . Name . The vehicle was put into service with Republic of Korea Army ( ROKA ) and Republic of Korea Marine Corps ( ROKMC ) in 1987 , but was tagged 88 by then - President Chun Doo - hwan to honor the upcoming 1988 Summer Olympics that took place in Seoul , Korea . The K1 is often incorrectly dubbed as Type 88 by foreigners . The correct term would be 88 Tank ( Hangul : 88 전차 ) — in South Korea , it is commonly referred to as the " Eight - Eight " tank , not " Eighty - Eight " . ) . " Type 88 " would actually translate into 88식 , which is completely different as the South Korean military applies the American method of marking their equipment , such as " M # A # " , and do not use the " Type # # " designations to refer to their equipment . The term 88 Tank is not an official designation . The official designation of the vehicle , as well as the most widely used name , however , remains to be the K1 Tank , ( Hangul : K1 전차 ) regardless when referring to either the K1 or the newer K1A1 variant . Nicknames include " Mini Abrams " and " Baby Abrams " due to its similar appearance and smaller size to the M1 Abrams . North Korean reaction . North Korean defectors have indicated that the K1 is superior to North Korean counterparts . This led the North Koreans to upgrade their T - 62 ( see Ch ' onma - Ho ) , as well as developing a new tank ( see P ' okpoong - Ho ) , in hopes of creating a countermeasure against the K1 . Despite the effort , the North Koreans apparently have not come up with an effective means of countering the K1 threat , and have given the K1 and the K1A1 main battle tanks the nickname of " Monster Tank " . ( Hangul : 괴물 전차 ) Variants . K1A1 . The K1A1 was accepted into Korean service on October 13 , 2001 after the first one was produced on April 3 , 1996 and is an upgraded version of the K1 MBT . The KM68 main gun has been replaced with KM256 120 mm main gun ( a licensed production model of U . S . M256 which , in turn , is a licensed production model of the Rheinmetall L44 ) which nearly doubled the penetration power of the original vehicle . In addition , its fire control system , thermal sights , LASER rangefinder , turret and gun stabilization and armor have been improved , giving the vehicle greater survivability and lethality . Improved armor is called ' Korean Special Armour Plate ( KSAP ) ' . The weight of the vehicle has increased along with the upgrade , and has slightly lowered its power - to - weight ratio and speed , the former of which was considered as already too low for the rough Korean terrain by some critics . The KCPS specifications for K1A1 is as follows ; The carbon dioxide laser rangefinder ' s specification is as follows ; The K1A1 can easily be distinguished from the K1 by the shape of the gun , location of the co - axial machinegun , the shape of the commander ' s panoramic sight , and the overall angular shape of the turret . ( The K1A1 has more curved surfaces than the K1 . ) The 120 mm smoothbore gun of K1A1 is thicker than the K1 ' s 105 mm rifled gun and has a thicker thermal sleeve a third of the way from the base of the gun . The co - axial machinegun on K1A1 is located at a much higher point compared to the K1 . The K1A1 also features a somewhat cone - shaped day / night KGPS compared to day - only sight of the K1 that has a plain , tube - like appearance to it . K1 ARV . The K1 Armored Recovery Vehicle is based on the K1 tank . It has a crane , winch and dozer system built on the vehicle . Created with assistance from Krupp Mak Maschinenbau GmbH ( now Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH ) and was created from 1988 to 1992 with first deployment in 1993 . K1 AVLB . The K1 Armoured Vehicle - Launched Bridge Vehicle variant uses a scissor - type bridge system mounted on the chassis . Developed from 1988 to 1992 with help from Vickers Defense Systems . K1M . This is a proposed export variant for Malaysia that never took off . In 1997 , Malaysia expressed high interest for obtaining the K1 , and the ROK responded by showing them the concept for K1M , which had several features not present in baseline K1 , including LASER warning system and air conditioning unit . It was to weigh 49 . 7 tons , while the total ammunition capacity would have been reduced to 41 rounds . The two nations never reached an agreement as the ROK offered a contract for 210 K1M ' s , but Malaysia responded that it was too many , and chose to go with Poland ' s PT - 91 .