Taiwan’s problem-plagued CM-32 “Clouded Leopard” armored infantry fighting vehicle ran into more difficulties this week with the announcement that delivery would be delayed by another five years, but the military denied that this was linked to steel-plate cracking and other design issues.
First unveiled in January 2005, the domestically produced eight-wheel-drive vehicle has encountered various problems from its inception and came close to being abandoned altogether in 2009 over design flaws and budgetary irregularities at the Ministry of National Defense, which resulted in the legislature’s decision to freeze two-thirds of the production budget.
Earlier this week, the Chinese-language United Daily News reported that cracking in the vehicle’s steel plating — which first surfaced three years ago — as well as disagreements over what type of cannon to use on the mounted turret, had prompted a decision to delay delivery of the vehicle by five years to 2019.
Photo: CNA
The 25-tonne Clouded Leopard, a joint project between the Ordnance Readiness Development Center and the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology started in 2000, is intended as a replacement for older armored personnel carriers and light-armed vehicles, including M113s and V-150s. Mass production, initially scheduled for 2007, began in late 2010, with the army set to procure 652 CM-32s for NT$58 billion (US$1.8 billion), or about US$2.7 million per vehicle.
Under the plan, the vehicles were scheduled for delivery in 2014. So far, only a limited number have been handed over to the army and to the Military Police for presidential protection.
Clarifying the matter, the min said it had suspended mass production after the chassis of four of the 14 CM-32s manufactured in 2008 displayed some cracks, but resumed full production in December 2010 after the problem was resolved.
“We instructed Army Command Headquarters, the Ordnance Readiness Development Center and the CSIST to form a taskforce, and to invite academics to jointly ascertain the causes of the cracks and address the problems,” the ministry said.
Production of all 652 CM-32s will be done by 2019, it said, without providing reasons for the current delay.
Additional reporting by Stacy Hsu
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
TAIWAN IS TAIWAN: US Representative Tom Tiffany said the amendment was not controversial, as ‘Taiwan is not — nor has it ever been — part of Communist China’ The US House of Representatives on Friday passed an amendment banning the US Department of Defense from creating, buying or displaying any map that shows Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The “Honest Maps” amendment was approved in a voice vote on Friday as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for the 2026 fiscal year. The amendment prohibits using any funds from the act to create, buy or display maps that show Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Wuciou (烏坵), Green Island (綠島) or Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) as part of the PRC. The act includes US$831.5 billion in