Taiwan modernizes old M60A3 with new barrel, while waiting for M1 MBT.

The United States has sold 108 M1 tanks to Taiwan. Currently, about 40 tanks have left the factory. The first batch of 38 tanks will be delivered to Taiwan in the fourth quarter of this year. At the same time, the army is preparing for the long-term use of the M1 tanks. 460 M60A3 tanks are undergoing a life extension and performance improvement plan. According to the latest information, after purchasing 460 new engines for the M60A3 tanks from foreign companies, an additional investment of 836 million yuan has been made to purchase M60A3 tanks from Factory 202 of the Armament Administration.
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M60A3 during live fire exercises  in 2023  (Picture source:  Taiwan Ministry of Defense )

The United States has sold 108 M1 tanks to Taiwan. Currently, about 40 tanks have left the factory. The first batch of 38 tanks will be delivered to Taiwan in the fourth quarter of this year. At the same time, the army is preparing for the long-term use of the M1 tanks. 460 M60A3 tanks are undergoing a life extension and performance improvement plan. According to the latest information, after purchasing 460 new engines for the M60A3 tanks from foreign companies, an additional investment of 836 million yuan has been made to purchase M60A3 tanks from Factory 202 of the Armament Administration.

The M60A3 and CM11 tanks currently in service in the military are equipped with 105mm tank guns, while the M1 tank uses a 120mm tank gun. The M60A3 has been in service for nearly 30 years. The degree of wear on the tank's gun barrel depends on the actual number of shots fired from each tank. Not all M60A3 tanks need their barrels replaced.

The M60A3 tank constitutes the main armored force of the active service Taiwanese army. A photo shows dozens of M60A3 military tanks rapidly assembling in Wude, Penghu, during the Hanguang exercise, where they vigorously attacked enemy targets. The artillery fire at the scene was shockingly intense.

Military sources have indicated that the number of tank guns required for the M60A3 purchased from Factory 202 of the Armament Administration represents about a third of the number of tanks. The contract took effect in the middle of this month and is expected to be completed by the end of 2028. The delivery of all the tank guns is now finished, and this timeline also corresponds to the purchase and updating of the tank engines.

The army command confirmed today that to effectively maintain the security of the M60A3 combat vehicle, Factory 202 of the Armament Bureau has been tasked with producing "gun barrels" to meet manufacturing and combat readiness needs. Currently, the signing of the commission agreement is completed, and all progress is on schedule.

As part of the life extension and performance improvement plan for the M60A3 tank, in addition to replacing the power system and the gun barrel, the gun control, firing, and targeting systems will also be fully renovated. The M60A3's fire control and targeting system has been upgraded. It will be equipped with a new digital fire control, fully electric gun control, and a high-resolution targeting system, which can resolve the issue of disappearing sources, improve firing accuracy, shorten engagement times, and enhance the success rate of first launches. Additionally, the commander will have an independent targeting system, which will enable direct observation and firing to conduct effective strikes.

A previous report submitted by the National Defense Ministry to the Legislative Yuan stated that the primary target of the M60A3 was the Type 05 amphibious assault vehicle, the main force of the Chinese Communist Party's landing operations. The vehicle weighs 26 tons and is equipped with a 105mm cannon. To cross floodwaters and capture beach speeds, the vehicle's body is made of aluminum alloy armor without any external armor, so protection is low during the beach-coast combat phase. The 105mm tank gun of the Chinese army's M60A3 relies on the DM63 stable discarding sabot projectile, which can penetrate 450mm of homogeneous steel armor and effectively destroy the Type 05 series amphibious combat vehicles.