Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) revealed on 25 August that it has ordered an additional 21 CM-34 Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs) to add to the 284 already being acquired for the Republic of China Army (RoCA). The CM-34 is based on the 6×6 CM-31 “Clouded Leopard”designed by Timoney Technology Limited of Ireland and is also manufactured locally by the Ordnance Readiness Development Centre. Four prototypes of the armored vehicle, officially called the “Taiwan Infantry Fighting Vehicle” (TIFV), passed pre-mass production tests in 2019, allowing it to enter mass production.
The hull of the CM-34 protects the crew against the firing of small arms 7.62mm around the vehicle while the frontal arc withstands 12.7 mm AP rounds. It has a V-shaped hull that provides protection against mine blast and can withstand 12 kg of TNT under any wheel. The CM-34 has a crew of three including a driver, commander, and gunner and can carry eight infantrymen at the rear of the vehicle. The CM-34 is divided in three main parts with the driver sits at the front of the vehicle on the left side and has a single-piece hatch cover that opens to the rear. The engine is to the right of the driver with the air inlet and outlet louvers in the top of the hull.
The CM-34 Infantry Fighting Vehicles is fitted with a two-man turret armed with Orbital ATK Mk 44 Bushmaster II 30 mm dual-feed automatic cannon. The second armament includes one coaxial machine gun mounted to the right of the main armament and one 7.62mm machine gun mounted on the roof of the turret. Six smoke grenade launchers are mounted on each side at the front of the turret. Compared with the CM-32 models that are armed with 40 mm automatic grenade launchers, the 30mm cannon has better anti-tank capabilities and can fire several accurate rounds in rapid succession.
