A military munitions factory won a contract to produce anti-tank rounds for the new variant of Taiwan’s locally developed Clouded Leopard armored vehicles, which are to be mounted with 105mm guns.
According to a notification of award on the government’s procurement Web site, the 209th Arsenal, responsible for the development of the Clouded Leopard, would procure anti-tank munitions from the 202nd Arsenal, which produces artillery shells.
Both factories are under the supervision of the Ministry of National Defense’s Armaments Bureau.
The NT$14.02 million (US$499,181) contract involves the production of armor-piercing, fin-stabilized discarding sabot tracers (APFSDS-Ts).
The ammunition would be used to test two 105mm tank guns purchased overseas, which are to be delivered in September and installed on two Clouded Leopard prototypes.
Military officials have said that the new guns would have 70 percent less recoil than guns of the same caliber used in Taiwan, making the Clouded Leopard more stable while firing.
Once they are mass produced, the new Clouded Leopards with 105mm guns would be deployed to combined arms battalions.
Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a senior analyst at the government-funded Institute for National Defense and Security Research, on Tuesday said that the 105mm guns, when used with APFSDS-Ts, would be capable of penetrating 250mm tank armor from a distance of 2km.
This would bolster the Clouded Leopard’s anti-landing capabilities during an enemy assault, he said.
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