Thunder 2000 MRL - The Truck
Misfortunes never come singly. Due to chassis problems, the service time was pushed back and forth. It did not enter the Taiwan military until 2012. The cost of the Thunder 2000 multi-barrel artillery rocket was only one-third of that of the US multi-rocket launcher. However, Taiwan's Army did not immediately decide to purchase it until 2004, when the budget was compiled for procurement and replacement. Before deciding on mass-production, the Thunder 2000 faced the problem of determining the carrier platform.
In fact, unless the original design is fixed, the new weapon system should take into account suitable vehicles that meet the combat needs during the development process, instead of putting together the available vehicles after the weapon system is developed. The Chinese Academy of Sciences has always been unable to grasp the "integration" of weapon systems and vehicles. The Army’s active Thunder 2000 multiple rocket system. The multiple rocket vehicles use the German MAN truck chassis, the ammunition vehicle uses the Italian IVECO truck, and the shooting command vehicle uses the German Benz truck chassis. It is difficult to find such exaggerated examples in the world.
In 1997, it publicly demonstrated the Thunder 2000 (RT -2000) Multiple rockets. The "Thunderbolt Project" team was unanimously optimistic about the M-977 8x8 Heavy High Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT) of the American Oshkosh Company. The vehicle was originally a launch vehicle for the "Patriot" surface-to-air missile, and it performed quite well in actual combat. In fact, the first two "Thunder"-2000 prototypes based on the HEMTT chassis have successfully passed the comprehensive performance test, and they were just short of being put into service. However, Oshkosh, which thought that this business was very stable, began to ask about prices, and the procurement budget compiled by the "Chinese Academy of Sciences" was too low. As a result, the price of HEMTT trucks far exceeded Taiwan's expectations. Taiwan's military and equipment suppliers faced a "lose-lose" situation.
The initial public configuration of the Thunder 2000 multi-barrel artillery rocket launcher was based on the M977 wheeled truck as the ammunition carrier, equipped with the CS/VRC-193C vehicle-mounted type II radio set by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, equipped with a set of multi-purpose launchers. The US 10-ton, 8-wheel M997 carrier was eventually not adopted due to the high price. In consideration of the pressure of combat readiness, the Chinese Academy of Sciences self-propelled launcher was originally installed as a prototype converted into a towed type and deployed on the front lines of the outer islands as an emergency means. As for the chassis problem, the German Benz military truck was originally awarded the bid, but the manufacturer was unable to obtain an export license.
After years of twists and turns, the Korean business Guanglin Group won the bid in 2009. In September 2009, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense suddenly notified the "Legislative Yuan" that the newly revised "Thunder"-2000 was about to be tested and planned to complete the combat capability assessment by the end of that year. Various media on the island moved after hearing the news. After investigation, it was learned that the "Chinese Academy of Sciences" changed to choose the HX81 8X8 truck provided by South Korea's Guanglin Company as the "Thunder"-2000 rocket launcher. The unit price is 18 million Taiwan dollars, and a total of 54 vehicles were purchased; At the same time, it is also preparing to purchase the 8X8 wheeled bomb-feeding vehicle promoted by South Korea's Kia Company. The purchase quantity is 57, and the unit price is NT$3.8 million.
Such a strange combination made the outside world suspicious. Soon, the island’s top military magazine "Advanced Technology" broke the news that South Korea’s Guanglin Company is just a company that modifies cranes. The commercial trucks are self-contained into 8x8 all-wheel drive "counterfeit goods". The technical risks can be imagined.
Another military magazine, "Asia Pacific Defense", pointed to Kia, claiming that the trucks promoted by the latter not only had no driving performance evaluation, but also only had a two-year warranty according to the contract. The "Chinese Academy of Sciences" and Kia only had to wait until the time was reached. After that, they no longer have to be responsible for logistics and hand over to the artillery purchaser, the Taiwan Army, to deal with the aftermath on its own.
Under the pressure of public opinion, the "Chinese Academy of Sciences" and Taiwan's "Ministry of National Defense" had to make concessions and once refused to accept three prototype vehicles provided by South Korea's Guanglin Company. However, the South Korean side was reluctant to suffer a loss, and immediately launched a public opinion counterattack, and seized the provisions of the island’s "Government Procurement Law", emphasizing that the samples provided by the winning bidder must be accepted, otherwise the tendering party would have to pay a huge liquidated damages.
After several changes, the Taiwan Army Command decided to continue to use the rocket launcher chassis provided by Guanglin Company, acting as an agent for importing the complete German MAN Group TGS 8X8 chassis. Kia, which had not formally signed a contract, fell victim to this decision. The Taiwan Army abandoned Kia’s 8x8 trucks and instead arranged for intermediaries to conduct “special channels”. The 8x8 trucks of the Italian company Iveco were brought in, and they were used as rocket supply vehicles and logistics support vehicles, totaling 57 vehicles. Commercial trucks with inertial guidance/global positioning orientator, company firing command system, U.S. military standard MEP803A-10KW generator, hydraulic boom and hydraulic parking hoe installed on the body, and then handed over to Taiwan.
The artillery chassis provided by South Korea’s Guanglin Company, which was making a lot of noise at the time, was after all modified from civilian models. Whether it can effectively adapt to the harsh environment of military vehicles remains to be tested by time; in addition, the limited core of South Korea With regard to the technological level, will it be possible in the future to transfer the HX81 truck production technology to the island of Taiwan in accordance with the provisions of the "Taiwan-Korea Purchase Treaty"? Furthermore, in the absence of technical support from the original manufacturer, how to ensure timely and reliable follow-up maintenance of the HX81 truck?
At the "Taipei Air Show" on 11 August 2011 of the same year, the mass-produced prototype launchers were publicly unveiled, finally putting an end to this "autonomous defense" project that had been delayed for many years. In the "Double Tenth Parade" in Taipei on October 10, "Thunder"-2000 full-system vehicles also participated in the military parade, indicating that the project is about to enter actual combat deployment. Although the new and old "Thunder"-2000 platforms are different, the overall configuration is roughly the same.
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