The 202nd Arsenal munition factory has been awarded a NTD14.02 million (USD498,000) contract to produce armour-piercing fin-stabilised discarding sabot tracers (APFSDS-T) rounds for a new direct-fire support variant of the 8×8 Cloud Leopard armoured vehicle. The 209th Arsenal, responsible for the development of the Cloud Leopard, will procure anti-tank munitions from the 202nd Arsenal, which produces artillery shells. Both armament factories are under the supervision of Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense.
The Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense’s Armament Bureau has announced the development of a new variant of the Clouded Leopard armored vehicle, with two prototypes scheduled to be completed before 2023. The new fire support vehicle variant will be armed with a 105-mm cannon, a 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun, and an additional 12.7 mm remote control gun turret. The developer of the direct-fire support variant, which will be equipped with 105 mm gun mounted in a turret as part of the “Cheetah Project”.
This ammunition will be used to test two 105mm tank guns purchased overseas, which will be delivered in September and installed on two Clouded Leopard prototypes. The new tank guns will have 70 percent less recoil compared with ones of the same caliber currently used in Taiwan, making the Clouded Leopard more stable when firing. Once they are mass produced the new Clouded Leopards with 105mm tank guns will be deployed to various Combined Arms Battalions. The direct-fire vehicle designed primarily for infantry support in the Taiwanese armed forces.
The “Clouded Leopard”, officially Taiwan Infantry Fighting Vehicle (TIFV), is an eight-wheeled armoured vehicle currently being produced for the Republic of China Army. It is based on the 6×6 CM-31 designed by Timoney Technology Limited of Ireland and is further developed by the Ordnance Readiness Development Center. Taiwanese military currently has a variety of Clouded Leopard armored vehicles, including the CM-32 and CM-33 models, which are both equipped with grenade launchers, and the CM-34 variant, which is armed with a 30-mm MK44 chain gun.
