Cheonma-2

[10] On October 10, 2020, the DPRK held a rare night time military parade to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Workers' Party of Korea's foundation.

[7] As of March 2024, 9 are known to exist in the updated M2024 standard, but mass production is believed to be planned at the Kusong tank plant.

[12][13] Visually, the Cheonma-2 appears to be a mixed design of the American M1 Abrams and the Russian T-14 Armata or Iranian Zulfiqar tank, although its overall layout is more similar to the latter.

[15] The tank is noted to be relatively compact in size, which is advantageous for armored fighting vehicles traversing hilly and mountainous terrains, such as the geography of the Korean Peninsula.

[4] Hard kill active protection systems (APS) are fitted on the lower part of the turret; two in the front corners and two on each side, each containing three tube launchers.

[14] KCTV has published footage of the APS intercepting an RPG-7 style round at the testing grounds in Kusong at the “Weapons and Equipment Exhibition 2023” in Pyongyang, which Joost Oliemans of Oryx has called "a laudable achievement for North Korean engineers".

[20][21] In the opening ceremony of the "Defense Development 2024" weapons and equipment exhibition held in Pyongyang, the Tianma-2 was revealed for the first time to the media along with many other vehicles.

While the biggest highlight of the 75th anniversary Worker's Party parade was the unveiling of the Hwasong-16 ballistic missile,[26] the appearance of the Cheonma-2 has also taken observers and defense experts by surprise.

[7][19] The Cheonma-2 is stated to be a testament to the North Korean defense industries' ingenuity despite being under an arms embargo and international sanctions.

[7][19][27] In an interview with Professor Sung Woo, the head of the Department of Military Drones at Shinhan University and a former policy advisor to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (South Korea), he stated the Cheonma-2 is a technological leap over existing North Korean tanks.

He concluded that the Cheonma-2 can become a serious threat to the K1 and the K2 tanks and that the South Korean military should improve networking capabilities and develop active protection systems to counter the Cheonma-2s.

[7] It is unknown if sensors, communication, networking, and composite armor technologies seen in advanced third and fourth generation main battle tanks are present in the Cheonma-2s.