The Chonma-ho which means "Sky Horse" or Pegasus, is one of North Korea's secretive indigenous main battle tank designs. The original Ch'ŏnma-ho is based on the Soviet T-62. There are at least five different operational versions of the Ch'ŏnma-ho. Since its inception, the Ch'ŏnma-ho has been upgraded various times. Not much is known about it, and its most recent public appearance was the 60th Anniversary Parade held in Pyongyang, North Korea, on 25 April 1992, celebrating the 60th anniversary of North Korea's ruling party.
Models
- Ch'ŏnma-ho I (Ga) - Lightened copy of the T-62 with thinner armour
- Ch'ŏnma-ho II (Na) - Similar to a stock T-62, but has several differences, has a laser rangefinder housed in a blister above the main gun atop the turret (though the original T-62 doers have a laser rangefinder, the Ch’onma-ho 1 do not – and the laser rangefinder of the T-62 is an integral part of the fire control system, rather than an add-on part like on the Ch’onma-ho 2). Fitted with spaced appliqué armor on the turret in a ring around the turret ("boom shield") – thin plates of steel welded onto the turret atop bars provide a space between the shields and the turret armor to provide the equivalent of spaced armor, as well as doubling as turret baskets for crew equipment and vehicle equipment.
- Ch'ŏnma-ho III (Da) - A simple progressive upgrade of the Ch’onma-ho 2, with a thermal sleeve for the main gun and armored track skirts added. It is possible, but considered unlikely, that lugs for ERA have been added since its introduction; if they are present, they would be most likely found on the glacis and turret sides. A night vision upgrade.
- Ch'ŏnma-ho IV (Ra) - Greatly upgraded armor protection, including composite armor on the glacis and turret front, and appliqué or thickened armor elsewhere. Even the appliqué and/or thickened armor appears to be more advanced than earlier models, does not appear to have gained a huge amount of weight. A ballistic computer was added to the fire control suite, and the fire control suite has been integrated into a complete system rather than being a patchwork of upgrades. Gun stabilization has been improved. Radios are improved, and the suspension beefed up. The new engine is a 750-horsepower model which can lay a thick, oily smoke screen by injecting diesel fuel into its exhaust. Lugs for ERA (similar to the Russian Kontakt-3 ERA) added to turret sides, and lugs on the armored track skirts and on the glacis. Lugs for a relatively small amount of ERA bricks on the turret front; the ERA on the turret front would only protect 40% of hits to the turret front. On side of turret, clusters of four smoke grenade launchers; at the rear of the turret another cluster of four smoke grenade launchers, firing backwards instead of forwards.
- Ch'ŏnma-ho V (Ma) - Armor upgrades derived partially from the T-90S and T-72S, as well as a better ballistic computer and the addition of the aforementioned thermal imagers. Upgraded main gun – a copy of the 125mm 2A46 gun, complete with an autoloader. The fire control system replaced with one matching the new main gun, and the spent shell ejection system dispensed . Use wider tracks.
- Ch'ŏnma-ho II - Designation for imported T-62
- Ch'ŏnma-ho IM - Improved imported T-62
| Ch'ŏnma-ho | |
|---|---|
| Type | Main battle tank |
| Place of origin |  North Korea |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Second Machine Industry Bureau |
| Designed | Before 1980 |
| Manufacturer | Second Machine Industry Bureau |
| Produced | 1980 - Present |
| Number built | More than 1,200 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 40 tons |
| Length | Hull length: 6.63 m (21.8 ft) |
| Width | 3.52 m (11.5 ft) |
| Height | 2.4 m (7.9 ft) |
| Crew | 4 |
| | |
| Armor | Cast turret, Spaced Armor, explosive reactive armour |
| Main armament | 115 mm 2A20 Smoothbore Gun/125mm 2A46 Smoothbore Gun |
| Secondary armament | KPV 14.5 mm heavy machine gun, 7.62 mm machine gun in coaxial mount |
| Engine | Diesel 750 hp (560 kW) |
| Power/weight | 18.75 hp/ton |
| Suspension | torsion-bar |
| Operational range | 450 km |
| Speed | 50 km/h |
