Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - The CM-34 Clouded Leopard, Taiwan's latest domestically built armoured vehicle , was unveiled on Thur...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - The CM-34 Clouded Leopard, Taiwan's latest domestically built armoured vehicle, was unveiled on Thursday at a secluded production site in the island's central mountains.
Taiwan has been eager to show its will to defend itself in the event that China, which claims the democratically ruled island as its own, attacks. These anxieties have grown worse in the last two years as Beijing has increased military activities near Taiwan.
While Taiwan relies on the US for many of its weaponry, such as fighter jets, President Tsai Ing-wen has pushed for a greater emphasis on Taiwanese-designed and manufactured arms, the most visible of which are new submarines.
The eight-wheeled CM-34, which entered service in 2019, is armed with a Northrop Grumman Mk44 Bushmaster 30mm chain cannon with a 3 kilometre effective firing range (1.9 miles). It is built to be highly mobile and capable of working in all types of weather.
According to facility chief Wang Wen-hung, the Jiji plant can produce six cars each month and has already delivered 173 of the 305 vehicles ordered to the military.
It is called after the clouded leopard of Taiwan. The animal is treasured by some Taiwanese indigenous people who consider it sacred, despite the fact that it is currently thought to be extinct.
The vehicle's development has not been without issues.
Several senior officials from supplier businesses were sentenced to prison last year for purchasing substandard parts for an older model, the CM-32, including some from China.
