Military shows off Cheetah tank
BIG BANG: The new Cheetah prototype demonstrated different firing techniques on stationary and moving targets, as well as its ‘hunter-killer’ mode in Tainan
By Huang Ching-hsuan and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer
The Armaments Bureau yesterday showcased the Cheetah (獵豹), a 105mm wheeled armored fighting vehicle, which is to enter mass production next year.
The vehicle, jointly developed by the Armaments Bureau and the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology, first passed army tests in 2023. The military has ordered 178 of the vehicles, with production to run from next year through 2033 under a budget of NT$57.07 billion (US$1.8 billion) budget.
The first eight vehicles are expected to be delivered next year, 202nd Arsenal Director Major General Chen Chien-chung (陳健中) said.
A 105mm wheeled tank fires its main gun in an unidentified location yesterday.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
At the Army Southern Area Joint Training and Evaluation Center in Tainan, the vehicle demonstrated “rapid synchronized firing upon target acquisition” from a stationary vehicle at a moving target, “hunter-killer mode firing” while moving against a stationary target, “main-gun firing on a slope” from a stationary position against a stationary target, and “multiple-weapons firing” while moving against moving targets, Chen said.
A total of six high-explosive anti-tank tracer rounds were fired, he said.
Compared with the D2 prototype of the Clouded Leopard (雲豹) family of vehicles, the Cheetah’s profile is more than 30cm lower and is about 2.95m tall, Chen said.
While its exact height would depend on tire pressure, it would remain below 3m, he said.
The Cheetah meets the army’s requirements for operation across all types of terrain, including underpasses and rough roads, and would provide greater convenience and maneuverability in urban combat operations, he said.
Lin Yu-min (林育民), head of the artillery development division at the 202nd Arsenal, said the 105mm gun was developed in-house, with all components, from the barrel to the recoil mechanism, manufactured domestically.
The gun generates 20 tonnes of recoil force when fired, compared with the M60A3’s 70 tonnes, while at a range of 1.2km it can hit a target within a circle 90cm in diameter, he said.
Its armor-piercing capability allows it to penetrate 500mm of homogeneous steel armor at 2km, Lin said.
The turret, developed by the institute, uses a dual-axis stabilization system and has a “hunter-killer mode” similar to that of the M1A2T, he said.
While the gunner aims at a first target, the commander can search for a second and, when appropriate, activate “hunter-killer mode” to take control of the main gun and engage it, Lin said.
The Armaments Bureau showed video of the vehicle’s remote-controlled weapon station destroying a drone.
The station has automatic ballistic tracking and has undergone hard-kill drone interception tests, Chen said.
The vehicle is to be equipped with a quick-release modular anti-drone net that can be moved aside when firing, although its material has not been determined, he said.
Wang Chien-ching (王劍青), a translator with the army’s Training Command, said the net would be given top priority during the first phase of mass production next year.
The mount on the remote weapon station would also be modified to accommodate chain guns or automatic cannons of 25mm caliber or larger, enabling it to carry the M230LF chain gun used on Apache attack helicopters.
The bureau also displayed ammunition for the Cheetah, including the TC113 105mm fin-stabilized discarding-sabot armor-piercing tracer round and TC113 105mm anti-personnel round.
The military also displayed, but did not fire, some of its US-made weapons, such as a Lockheed Martin-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket System.
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