The Argentine Minister of Defense, Jorge Taiana, supervised this morning at the Magdalena Tank Shooting Range the firing and adjustment tests of the installed systems of the Medium Argentine Tank (TAM), in its TAM 2CA2 version. The goal is to verify the modernization that implies the integration of the new systems. This update is very significant as it puts them on a technological level with the most modern tanks in the world. The Modernization Project of the Medium Argentine Tank (TAM), the main armored weapon of the Argentine Army, adds state-of-the-art systems to the TAM 2CA2 version that enable All Time Combat (TT) and greater precision in shooting, thanks to the incorporation of an advanced digitized fire control system.
“We are very satisfied that this modernization advances within the deadlines that we have established, we hope to end the year with several modernized tanks and ready to integrate the operational units. This modernization will allow us to have state-of-the-art armored vehicles, suitable for both exercises and combat, and this is the result of the work carried out jointly with IMPSA and we can carry it out thanks to the National Fund for the Defending,” said the Minister of Defense after witnessing the activity organized by the General Directorate of Investigation and Development of the Argentine Army.
Among other improvements, a higher movement speed of the tower was achieved, as a consequence of the replacement of the original hydraulic movement system with an electric one. The technological leap achieved is significant, since the technology used in the TAM 2C is the same that is currently used by the most modern tanks in the world, this gives it the necessary operational capabilities that modern conflicts demand. In this first stage, 74 of these units are expected to be modernized with this system. After these preliminary checks in the field, the Operational Technical Evaluation (ETO) of the TAM 2CAC prototype will take place, whose objective will be to verify that it meets the operational requirements set by the Argentine Army.After the shooting test, the minister visited the 8th Tank Cavalry Regiment “Cazadores General Necochea”.
The Tanque Argentino Mediano (TAM; English: Argentine Medium Tank) is a medium tank in service with the Argentine Army. Lacking the experience and resources to design a tank, the Argentine Ministry of Defense contracted German company Thyssen-Henschel. The vehicle was developed by a German and Argentine team of engineers, and was based on the German Marder infantry fighting vehicle chassis. The TAM met the Argentine Army’s requirement for a modern, lightweight and fast tank with a low silhouette and sufficient firepower to defeat contemporary armored threats. The new tank’s firepower requirements were met by fitting a Rheinmetall’s Rh-105-30 105 mm (4.13-inch) main gun. This gun is manufactured in Argentina as the FM K.4 Modelo 1L. The TAM’s survivability is related to its low profile turret, based on that of the Leopard 1A4s and the Leopard 2,and its physical armor array.
