Several examples of upgraded Republic of China Army (RoCA) M60A3 main battle tanks were sighted at a training facility earlier in March, open-source imagery circulated on social media channels have revealed.
The most obvious enhancements were the redesigned turret with shaped armour plates as well as a remote weapon station (RWS) of apparent indigenous manufacture.
No official announcements have yet been made. However, army officials were quoted by local media saying that the state-run National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) has been engaged to develop new sighting systems for the service’s M60A3 fleet.
NCSIST is also currently leading an effort to upgrade an initial batch of 40 M60A3 MBTs, which will receive enhancements to their main gun, ballistic fire control computer and sighting systems, centering on the replacement of the original 105 mm M68 rifled gun with a 120 mm smoothbore cannon as well as upgrades to the turret’s hydraulic system for the turret and associated electrical systems.
The initial effort will determine whether the remainder of the RoCA’s M60A3 fleet – understood to comprise a total of 460 ex-US Army surplus tanks – will be upgraded. The type was originally acquired from 1995 through 2000 and are outmatched by modern tanks. Upgraded tanks are expected to be redelivered in batches by October 2025.
Taiwan has also contracted Renk America – which was formerly the Combat Propulsion Systems division of L3Harris Technologies before its acquisition by Renk Group in 2021 – to supply an unspecified number of AVDS-1790 diesel engines to upgrade the M60A3 MBTs at a cost of around US$241 million. The company announced in August 2024 that the first engine was completed.
The RoCA also operates a large fleet of CM-11 Brave Tiger (hybrid M60 MBT with M48 turrets) as well as CM-12 (updated M48A3 MBT) platforms.
However, the tank force received a welcome boost in firepower with its first batch of 38 General Dynamics M1A2T Abrams MBTs in December 2024. The M1A2T is a customised M1A2 SEPv2 variant, and these are the first new tanks Taiwan has received in nearly a quarter of a century.
Forty-two M1A2T MBTs are expected to be delivered in 2025, and the final 28 in 2026, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND).
by Jr Ng
