The military is to mount two tank guns purchased from the US on domestically made armored vehicles to aid in the research and development (R&D) of mobile gun systems, sources said on Saturday.
Two sets of M68A2 105mm tank guns are to be mounted on Taiwanese-built CM-32 Clouded Leopards, the sources said.
The official R&D would start next year, and the military hopes to produce two prototypes by 2023, they added.
Photo courtesy of the Military News Agency
A 105mm tank gun is expected to be the main weapon of armored vehicles, with a secondary system to incorporate a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun with a 12.7mm remote-controlled machine gun turret.
Sources in the military said that armored vehicles using 105mm barrels are expected to replace outdated light tanks used by mechanized infantry battalions.
The new vehicles can provide increased mobility and firepower, they said.
However, as the vehicle chassis weighs about 30 to 40 tonnes, R&D would have to find ways to reduce the recoil of the 105mm barrel to 70 percent of equivalent cannons currently used by the military, sources said.
The US government on Dec. 4 last year approved the export of the weapons and is expected to ship them to Taiwan in September after live-fire testing.
The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology has requested the equipment provider to include mechanical blueprints and six other technical documents, sources said, adding that the institute in January finalized and signed a Technical Assistance Agreement with the provider.
In addition to plans to produce two prototype vehicles by 2023, the Ministry of National Defense has said it also hopes to develop 105mm armor-piercing rounds.
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