CM-11 Brave Tiger

CM-11 Brave Tiger M-48H Patton
ROCA CM-11 in Hukou Camp after Exercise
Type	Main Battle Tank
Place of origin	Taiwan (Republic of China)
Service history
In service	1990-present
Production history
Designer	Republic of China Armored Vehicle Development Center
Designed	1984
Manufacturer	Republic of China Armored Vehicle Development Center
No. built	450
Specifications
Mass	50 tonnes (55 short tons; 49 long tons)
Length	6.95 meters (22 ft 10 in) (hull) 9.30 meters (30 ft 6 in) (cannon forward)
Width	3.63 meters (11 ft 11 in)
Height	3.09 meters (10 ft 2 in)
Crew	4
Main armament	105 mm (4.1 in) M68 gun
Secondary armament	.50 BMG (12.7×99mm) M2 Browning 7.62×51mm NATO M240 machine gun
Engine	Continental AVDS-1790-2C air-cooled Twin-turbo diesel engine 750 hp (560 kW)
Power/weight	15 hp/t
Suspension	Torsion bar suspension
Operational range	480 kilometers (300 mi)
Maximum speed	48 km/h

The CM-11 Brave Tiger (勇虎式戰車) is a Main Battle Tank (MBT) that was developed by the American General Dynamics and the Republic of China Army (ROCA) Armored Vehicle Development Center It was introduced to the public on 14 April 1990. Being a variant of the M48 Patton, it is also known as the M48H Main Battle Tank.

Development History

The Republic of China established the Armored Vehicle Development Center in 1980, and was tasked to develop military armored vehicles, and had cooperated with General Dynamics to develop the CM-11. The development of the tank has two main purposes, first was to avoid the limitations set by the US-PRC Joint Communique (17 August Communique), and second was to allow the ROCA to acquire Second Generation MBTs.

The CM-11 is a hybrid tank using the M48A3 turret with the M60A3 tank hull, combined with the new M1 tank's Fire-Control System (FCS). The United States designated it as M48H, where the "H" means Hybrid, and the Republic of China designated CM-11 and named it Brave Tiger.

Design

In 1988, two prototype CM-11 was finished, and was ordered to build 450 CM-11. The M60A3 hull was procured from the United States in 1987, and the M48A3 turret and the M68A1 105mm main cannon was produced by the Army Ordnance Maintenance and Development Center. The Commander's turret was procured from Israel with a M2 Browning 12.7 mm machine gun, the loader operates a M240 7.62 mm machine gun, the coaxial machine gun is also a M240. Both sides of the turret has mounted one M239 Smoke Grenade Launcher, like the M60A3 tank.

Advantages

The greatest features and advantages of the CM-11 is it has the same level of digital/ analogy hybrid ballistic calculator as the M1A1 Abrams MBT; it has a two-dimensional sighting and gun stabilization system, more complete than the M60A3's one-dimensional stabilizing device; combining the AN/VSG-2 Thermal imager, AN/VVS-2 Image Intensifier, AN/GVS-5 Nd-YAG Laser rangefinder, allowing the CM-11 to have Fire-on-the Move and Night Combat capabilities, it also have the highest probability of first round hit compare to all ROCA tanks.

Disadvantages

Disadvantages of the CM-11 is its outdated design, armor, and gun. The PLA's Type 96G and Type 99 are both armed with 125 mm main cannons, which the CM-11 does not offer significant protection from their 125 mm APFSDS and HEAT shots. The ROCA knew this disadvantage very early, and tried to introduce the explosive reactive armor (ERA) from the French company GIAT, but the additional ERA installations caused excessive stress on the torsion bars, so plans to install ERA on the tank was put on hold until a solution was found. Its engine is older technology as well.

During the Spring Festival in 2012, the ROCA's 542 Armor Brigade of the 6th Army Corps initiated their combat readiness drill, and shown a CM-11 installed with the ERA for the first time. Developed by CSIST, angling was applied to the ERA design to increase deflection probability of incoming shots and reduce the probability of penetrating the hull which may cause damage to the tank's internal modules and wounding the crew inside.

• 
  CM-11 side view
• 
  Rear view of CM-11

Upgrade Program

In 2017, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence started new tank upgrade program for which it allocated 6.5 million USD to state-owned National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology for research and development of upgrade package for 450 M60A3 TTS which begins in 2018, testing and evaluation is expected to be complete in 2019 with upgrade program being launched in 2020 from which after completion CM-11 tanks are set to be upgraded next.

See also

• CM-12 Tank
• M60 Patton
• M48 Patton