CM-34 "Clouded Leopard" - Taiwan Infantry Fighting Vehicle (TIFV)

Taiwan will begin mass production of its indigenous CM-34 "Clouded Leopard" eight-wheeled armored vehicles in 2019 and is scheduled to complete the production of 284 of the vehicles by 2023, a Ministry of National Defense (MND) official said 31 December 2018. Four prototypes of the armored vehicle, officially called the Taiwan Infantry Fighting Vehicle (TIFV), passed pre-mass production tests Oct. 19, allowing it to enter mass production. The prototypes have passed all 62 categories in the primary pre-mass production tests, but failed two categories in secondary tests.

Improvements have since been made, so the MND has decided to proceed with mass production of the vehicle model equipped with a 30mm chain gun, the official said under condition of anonymity. The official said Taiwan has ordered Orbital ATK 30mm Mk44 Bushmaster II cannons to be mounted on the vehicle. 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, the official said.

The 209 factory is responsible for the integration of the whole Yunbao vehicle. The body of the vehicle is the common chassis of the CM-32 clouded leopard car. The turret is developed by the Zhongshan Institute of Science and the main weapon is the Mk 44 large two-chain gun made by the American ATK company. In addition to the 30-mm machine gun and the injection system, the Yunbao vehicle is equipped with domestic research and production, which reduces the degree of dependence on foreign technology.

The Yunbao vehicle was assembled in January 2015 and went to the Yilan Dafu Weapons Test Site, the North Test Center and the South Test Center for functional and performance tests. On May 21, 2015, Lieutenant General Chen Zifeng, commander of the Republic of China Marine Corps , led the team to visit the Chinese Academy of Sciences for the first time to publish photos; on January 11, 2016, President Ma Ying-jeou saw the production and manufacturing center of the Armament Bureau, Yunbao stepping vehicle Officially open to the outside world, the relevant test films were also announced, and it was announced that it is expected to produce 284 chain guns from 2017 to 2021.

The whole plan was originally scheduled for operational evaluation at the end of 2016. After the test, it is scheduled to produce 658 vehicles in the production of grenade machine guns and 30-chain guns between 2017 and 2021. However, after 2015, clouded leopard power assembly procurement scandal occurred, the second batch production plans have been subjected to freeze; resurgence after the original contractor electrician cut penalty verdict, the Ministry of Defense in 2018 to re-tender clouded leopard chassis, and in May 2018, the contract was signed. Mass production of step-by-step combat vehicles will be completed from 2018 to 2023. In 2018, four pilot production vehicles will be completed. The results were to be tested will enter the full-speed mass production stage.

Four 30-mm machine gun-type clouded leopard-car prototypes completed the tactical verification evaluation on October 19, and were comprehensively judged as “qualified”. 124 overall evaluations, including 62 major projects, were qualified, and 62 qualified rates were over 80%. Only 2 failed, and had been improved, in line with the Army's operational needs, decided to mass production of 284 units.

The CM-34 "Clouded Leopard" ("Yunpao") is officially the Taiwan Infantry Fighting Vehicle (TIFV). The new CM-34 vehicles are equipped with a 30 mm chain gun as its main armament, which was designed and made in Taiwan. The CM-34 model was developed to help deter a potential amphibious invasion. At the beginning of the development, the Taiwan military established a series of variants on the basis of the "Cloud Leopard" infantry fighting vehicle. These include: armored transport vehicles, fire assault vehicles, self-propelled mortars, anti-tank missile launch vehicles, armored ambulances, communications command vehicles, nuclear biochemical reconnaissance vehicles, etc.

Ministry of National Defense confirmed 24 October 2018 in a Legislative Yuan hearing that the proposal to produce 284 CM-34 "Clouded Leopard" armored vehicles will go ahead, after an evaluation process. Fang said that the proposed CM-34 prototype passed its tactical verification assessment on 19 October 2018, giving the plan the green light. Yang Hai-ming, Chief of Staff of Army Command Headquarters said that the CM-34 project will not reduce demand for U.S.-made M1A2 vehicles, reported Liberty Times. The Armament Bureau is responsible for production. The army is scheduled to complete the production of 284 of the vehicles by 2023, a Ministry of National Defense (MND) official said 31 December 2018. The Taiwan military was already equipped with 378 CM-34 vehicles with a 40 mm automatic grenade launcher.

The body of the vehicle is the common chassis of the CM-32 cloud leopard car. The turret is developed by the Zhongshan Institute of Science and the main weapon is the Mk 44 giant two-chain gun made by the American ATK company. In addition to the 30-mm machine gun and the injection system, the Yunbao stepping vehicle is equipped with domestic research and production, which reduces the degree of dependence on foreign technology.

The Yunbao fighing vehicle was assembled in January 2015 and went to the Yilan Dafu Weapons Test Site, the North Test Center and the South Test Center for functional and performance tests. On May 21, 2015, Lieutenant General Chen Zifeng, commander of the Republic of China Marine Corps , led the team to visit the Chinese Academy of Sciences for the first time to publish photos; on January 11, 2016, President Ma Ying-jeou saw the production and manufacturing center of the Armament Bureau, Yunbao vehicle was officially presented to the outside world, the relevant test plans were also announced, and it was announced that it expected to produce 284 chain guns from 2017 to 2021.

The whole plan was originally scheduled for operational evaluation at the end of 2016. However, after 2015, the power assembly procurement scandal occurred, the second batch production plans were subjected to a freeze. Since 2013, the ZTE team has begun to deliver contracted parts to the Bingquan Center, which has assembled more than 200 Cloud Leopard vehicles. However, when the military accepted the inspection, it was noticed that the failure rate of the production car was high, including the overheating failure of the power chassis, and there were serious problems such as oil leakage, bolts, and broken calipers. It was sent to repair almost every two days. The engine speed was insufficient, the oil leakage and the radius of gyration were not in compliance with the standard. At the time of the investigation, 5 vehicles were tested, and 2 of them did not meet the operational requirements, and the failure rate was as high as 40%.

At the same time, the Ministry of Justice The investigation bureau received reports that the ZTE team was suspected of violating the procurement contract, and the inferior Chinese sub-parts were supplied to manufacture the clouded leopard. On June 21, 2016, the first batch of judgments of the Taichung District Court, Zhongxing Electric Business Manager Yang Ruicheng, Ye Yuetao and other 16 people confessed to making false accounts and conducting fake transactions.

The Ministry of Defense in 2018 to re-tender the contract, and in May 2018, the contract was signed. Mass production of step-by-step combat vehicles will be completed from 2018 to 2023. In 2018, four pilot production vehicles were completed.Four 30-mm machine gun-type clouded leopard-car prototypes completed the tactical verification evaluation on October 19, and were comprehensively judged as “qualified”. 124 overall evaluations, including 62 major projects, were qualified, and 62 qualified rates were over 80%. Only 2 failed, and had been improved, in line with the Army's operational needs, now decided to mass produce 284 units.

Production of the CM-34 'Clouded Leopard' 8-wheeled armored vehicles began in 2019, with 284 vehicles scheduled for completion by 2023. Taiwan ordered Orbital ATK 30mm Mk44 Bushmaster II cannons to be mounted on the vehicle. 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.

In August 2020 the Ministry of Defense ordered 21 CM-34 infantry fighting vehicles, also known as “Clouded leopard” or Taiwanese fighting infantry vehicles (TIFV), for the Taiwanese military police. The Armaments Bureau that developed the "clouded panther", a name that refers to a species endemic to Taiwan which has now disappeared. The Bureau said 284 units had already been ordered for the army. Production of this armored vehicle, of which around 88% of parts are locally manufactured, began in 2019 and is expected to be completed in 2023. 32 vehicles have already been delivered last year, six of which are already in service on time. current. The Defense Ministry did not specify the location of the deployment or the use to be made of these vehicles, but its spokesman Shih Shun-wen (indiqué?) indicated that the use of military force would only be done in the event of an obvious threat or attack, as self-defense.