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Cracks in Yunpao vehicle armor resolved: military

ROC Central News Agency

2011/08/12 20:45:32

By Lo Chu-tung and Sofia Wu

Taipei, Aug. 12 (CNA) The military will continue to produce CM-32 Yunpao (Cloud Leopard) armored vehicles in conjunction with Taiwan-based China Steel Machinery Corp. (CSMC), as the problem of cracks appearing in the armor body has been overcome, a Ministry of National (MND) official said Friday.

"According to our plan, a total of 368 Yunpao eight-wheeled modular armored vehicles will have rolled off the production line by 2017," said Chiang Kuang-chung, deputy director of the Ordnance Readiness Development Center under the MND's Combined Logistics Command.

The military originally planned to produce 638 of the armored vehicles, but the project was suspended in 2008 after cracks were found in the body panels of the first batches of vehicles.

The steel company then formed a 10-member team of experts to seek solutions to the problem. "By developing a unique slow-cooling method in the steel plate production process, the crack problem has been resolved," Chiang told reporters at a presentation at the ordnance readiness center in Nantou County, central Taiwan.

It marked the first time the center has opened its Yunpao production line to the media. The armored vehicles, liveried in camouflage, staged an exhibition drill in which they performed various combat moves and demonstrated their resistance to ordnance.

Wang Hsi-chin, a senior executive at the CSMC's technological department, said at the presentation that the company is using wind-powered iron smelting technology to develop bullet-proof steel plates for the Yunpao production run.

"The quality of our steel plates is on par with that of standard plates in many other countries," Wang said, adding that a delegation from the French auto company Renault once visited CSMC to explore possible business opportunities regarding the Taiwan-produced steel plates.

By modifying the production process, the CSMC-produced armor plates no longer crack, and boast both superb bullet-proof ability and flexibility, Wang said.

Speaking on the same occasion, CSMC President Hsu Wen-tu said the company looks forward to selling this special quality steel plate abroad in the future, since the military authorities have no intention of putting it on a list of strategic goods subject to export controls.

According to military officials, each Yunpao modular armored vehicle carries a price tag of more than NT$60 million (US$2.07 million).

The Yunpao armored vehicle was born out of a government initiative in 2002 as an improved form of CM-31 with greater capabilities and modernized systems to suit changing military requirements.

The modular armored vehicles allow operators to purchase one chasis for different battlefield needs. The same hull, engine and chassis can mount various armament configurations to suit the mission at hand. As such, these vehicles can take on the roles of armored personnel carrier, infantry fighting vehicle, command-and-control vehicle, battlefield ambulance, fire support, mortar carrier and the like, military sources said.