Taiwan’s ageing tanks to get an upgrade to boost defences against PLA

Forty of the US-made M60A3 tanks will have their gun, fire and sighting control systems improved in initial update
Military officials say this will improve combat capability against any landing attempt by the PLA’s amphibious troops

Taiwan

Lawrence Chungin Taipei

Published: 9:00pm, 9 Mar 2022

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Taiwan’s ageing M60A3 tanks will be upgraded to improve combat capability in the event of an attempted attack by the People’s Liberation Army, the island’s military said.

The NT$444 million (US$15.7 million) contract for the upgrade was awarded to the island’s top weapons maker, the National Chung-shan Institute of Science and Technology, according to a tender announcement on the government’s procurement website on Wednesday.

Forty of the US-made tanks will have their gun, fire and sighting control systems updated, with the vehicles to be delivered in batches by October 2025.

The rest of the fleet of M60A3s will be upgraded if the army is satisfied with the work on the first 40 tanks, according to military officials.

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Taiwan’s army has 460 of the M60A3 tanks, which it bought from the United States between 1995 and 2000.

The tanks are no longer used by the US Army – they were phased out between 1994 and 1997 and replaced with the more powerful M1s.

But they are a major part of Taiwan’s tank fleets based on its small offshore islands of Quemoy (also known as Kinmen) and Penghu (or the Pescadores) – which are near the Chinese mainland – as well as in Hualien and Taitung on the east coast of the main island.

The M60A3 tanks have featured in the island’s annual Han Kuang war games in recent years. Taiwan’s army also has 400 CM-11 main battle tanks and 250 CM-12 tanks in service.

Military officials said the upgrades would help extend the life of the M60A3s and also boost combat capability against any landing attempt by the PLA’s amphibious troops.

It comes as tensions are soaring across the Taiwan Strait. Beijing claims self-governed Taiwan as part of its territory and has never ruled out the use of force to take control of the island. It has ramped up pressure on Taiwan, seeking to isolate the island diplomatically and sending a record number of warplanes into its air defence identification zone last year – something it does on an almost daily basis – as it tries to push President Tsai Ing-wen to accept the one-China principle.

Meanwhile, the PLA Navy has in recent years expanded its fleet of amphibious warfare ships that could be used in the Taiwan Strait and the wider region. New vessels include the Yuzhao Type 071 amphibious transport dock and the Yushen-class Type 075 amphibious assault ship, which can carry a large number of landing craft, troops, armoured vehicles and helicopters.

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As part of efforts to modernise its infantry, Taiwan’s military ordered 108 M1A2T Abrams main battle tanks from the United States in 2019. The first of the M1A2Ts are expected to be delivered to the island later this year.

The M1A2Ts are based on the US Army’s latest battle tank, the M1A2C, and have been customised for the Taiwanese military, with more electrical power and an ammunition data link for “smart” shells with reprogrammable fuses. The island’s military plans to gradually replace its ageing CM11s with the Abrams tanks.