CM-37 Cheetah - 105mm assault gun
Towards mass production, the Arms Bureau’s latest 105 mm wheeled combat vehicle was unveiled for the first time 24 June 2024. As of June 2023 the related construction project was canceled due to the prototype vehicle failing to meet the mass production standards required by the Army. The vehicle height complied with the specifications of the overall scientific research project plan. In addition, the shooting accuracy and stability are both higher than the functional and performance standards. The 105mm combat vehicle is the first domestically developed vehicle. It was fully communicated with the military supervision profession and jointly conducted evaluations. The development was completed in just 5 years by breaking through key technical bottlenecks. This is indeed a major achievement for Taiwan's national defense independence.
THe Cheetah vehicle displayed in 2024 was visibly improved over the Black Bear initially unveilled in 2007. The inflexsion point of the bow is raised substantially, presumably to provide better water crossing charcterstics. All of the frontal surfaces on the hull and turret have been reinforced with plates of armor, with the turret mantlet particularly reworked. Sensors on teh top of the turret were also re-arranged, and a remote weapon station replaces the manually operated machine gun on the earlier version. In the middle of the vehicle, beteen the second and third wheel pars, there is now a pronounced downward fillet extention of the hull, the function of which may be imagined but is not explained. The 105 mm wheeled combat vehicle developed by the Arms Bureau based on the Clouded Leopard 8-wheeled armored vehicle was originally not confirmed for mass production after the end of the project. China's plan to make its own 105 mm wheeled combat vehicle has been cut in half and is now defeated. Resurrection, the Ministry of National Defense arranged for military reporters to go to the vehicle testing site at Jijiyue Gang Camp in Nantou this morning (25th) to visit the dynamic and static displays of the 105 mm wheeled combat vehicle.
Under the name of "Project Cheetah", the Arms Bureau of the Ministry of National Defense spent more than 700 million yuan to develop two 105 mm wheeled combat vehicle prototypes, which were planned to be provided to joint force brigades as fast mobile strike firepower. The project was originally expected to be completed by the end of 2023, but However, it is reported that the Army Command has not decided whether to mass-produce it due to various reasons such as considering that 2024 will be the peak period of budget expenditure. After the election, it was reported that the Arms Administration and the Chinese Academy of Sciences were actively persuading the Army Command to build the project
The static explanation and dynamic display show the specific results of "nationally made cars". In the future, in line with the recommendations of the Army Equipment and Training Department, the Armaments Bureau and the Chinese Academy of Sciences prepared a budget of NT$290 million to complete the research and modification of the third prototype vehicle in 2025.
According to the Army's operational needs, the 202nd Factory of the Armament Administration has developed a scientific research project on a 105 mm wheeled combat vehicle (formerly known as a combat artillery armored vehicle) under the code name "Project Cheetah". It was to be implemented from 2019 to 2023. Complete 2 prototype vehicles (D1, D2).
Although the Army has stated that the 105 mm wheeled combat vehicle prototype passed the research and development evaluation, the vehicle height also complies with the overall planning requirements of the scientific research project, and the accuracy and stability of the tank gun's shooting are higher than the standard, but it is not scheduled to be completed until the end of 2023. After the case was concluded, the Army Command has yet to promote the construction and procurement of the project, making it possible that the first domestically developed 105 mm wheeled combat vehicle will go into history.
With the active efforts of the Arms Bureau, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Armored Forces Inspection Unit, the Ministry of Defense finally obtained approval to further improve and develop a third 105 mm wheeled combat vehicle prototype with a lower body height. The Ministry of National Defense today disclosed for the first time the performance display of the 105 mm wheeled combat vehicle prototype (D2), which also means that it is expected to be mass-produced and put into service in the future.
For the Clouded Leopard 105mm wheeled combat vehicle, Factory 202 of the Armament Bureau serves as the main contracting unit, responsible for the integration of the entire system and the research and development of new ammunition for tank guns. Factory 209 is responsible for the research and development of the vehicle chassis, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences is responsible for development of the 105mm turret systems.
The 105 mm wheeled combat vehicle, jointly developed by the 202nd and 209th factories of the Armament Bureau and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is not only expected to replace the M41D light combat vehicle currently in service in the Army, enhance the rapid mobile strike firepower of the joint brigade, but also be able to respond to the needs of the Navy and the Army. The combat needs of the team and military police.
The Clouded Leopard 105mm wheeled chariot prototype with a crew of 4 can reach a maximum speed of more than 100 kilometers per hour on the road. The 105mm chariot turret equipped on the vehicle adopts electric control and a dual-axis servo stabilization device. The artillery can be fired while moving, and the armor-piercing performance of the 105 mm low recoil tank gun can penetrate a 500 mm thick homogeneous steel plate at 2,000 meters. The turret is equipped with a commander and shooter sighting system, which has all-weather combat capabilities and can identify vehicle targets at 2,000 meters and personnel targets at 1,200 meters.
According to the R&D evaluation plan, the 202nd Factory completed the R&D evaluation of 2 Clouded Leopard 105 mm wheeled combat vehicle prototypes on February 2, 2023. During the period, a total of 42 test subjects including on-the-fly shooting were carried out, and 40 of them were qualified. , including two items such as reliability and maintenance, the parameters will continue to be collected according to the plan until the initial operational evaluation is completed. As for the initial operational evaluation, it was completed on August 18, 2023. A total of 91 primary and secondary tests were performed, and the overall evaluation result of the entire case was qualified.
Colonel Yang Ximin, chief of the strategic planning section of the 202nd Factory, said that the third prototype vehicle (D3 prototype) had completed the preliminary design of the configuration. The height of the vehicle body will be reduced from 3.3 meters for the D1 and D2 prototypes to less than 3 meters. , it is expected to complete the manufacturing and verification operations next year.
There were media reports in June 2023r that two prototype vehicles were determined not to be put into production because the vehicle platform was too high and could not be improved. There is no extension plan for this case in next year's defense budget. The national army's research and development of wheeled combat vehicles has been temporarily frustrated. The Ministry of National Defense responded at the time that the 105 mm wheeled combat vehicle was a scientific research project implemented in accordance with the Army's research and development needs. It planned to develop two prototype vehicles (non-mass production models) from 108 to 112 years [years of the Republic of China since founding in 1911]. The entire project has now passed the R&D evaluation, and the vehicle height complies with the specifications of the overall scientific research project plan. In addition, the shooting accuracy and stability are both higher than the functional and performance standards.
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