Republic of China Army Demonstrates New Cheetah 105mm Wheeled Tank

The Republic of China Army has publicly demonstrated the locally developed Cheetah 105mm wheeled armoured vehicle in live-fire exercises, providing the first detailed look at the production-standard configuration of the new eight-wheeled combat vehicle. The demonstration was conducted by the Republic of China Army at the Southern Training and Evaluation Centre in Tainan, at the far south of Taiwan Island, with the vehicle engaging both moving and stationary targets using its main gun. The Cheetah is scheduled to enter mass production in 2027, with the Republic of China Army planning to procure 178 vehicles. 

The Cheetah engaged a moving target at approximately 1.2 kilometres and a stationary target at around one kilometre. It also demonstrated its ability to fire against targets positioned approximately 90 degrees to the side of the vehicle while operating on a gentle slope, showing the ability of the turret and fire-control system to engage targets when the vehicle is positioned on uneven terrain. A simulated engagement involving multiple targets also saw the 7.62mm coaxial machine gun fired alongside the main gun. 

A 105mm gun is considered highly limited in its penetrative capabilities against modern armour, even if using modern APFSDS rounds, which has raised serious questions regarding the Cheetah program from the outset. Supporters of the program have highlighted the vehicle’s potential utility for infantry support. The Republic of China Army fields close to 800 obsolete main battle tanks, including the Korean War era M41, M48, the Vietnam War era M60, and the newer but still highly constrained Brave Tiger which is based on the M48 chassis. Unable to replace these one-for-one with modern main battle tanks, primarily due to the fact that only the very costly U.S. M1A2 Abrams is being offered, procurements of domestically developed wheeled tanks is considered the only viable option. 

The demonstration of the Cheetah’s firing capabilities proved to be problematic of the six 105mm rounds fired during the event failed to discharge. Major General Chen Chien-chung, director of the Armaments Bureau’s Production and Manufacturing Centre’s 202nd Factory, said that an investigation would be conducted into the malfunction and that the ammunition would be recovered for analysis.  This was fair from isolated, with the last major live-fire test centred around U.S.-supplied HIMARS rocket artillery similarly seeing a high rate of failure. 

The Cheetah is being developed jointly by the Republic of China Ministry of National Defence Armaments Bureau and the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology. The vehicle is derived from the CM-32/33/34 Clouded Leopard eight wheeled armoured vehicle and is intended to provide a mobile direct-fire capability for territorial defence and counter-landing operations. The system was first publicly displayed in an earlier configuration in 2023 and subsequently underwent further development before reaching the production-standard configuration demonstrated in September 2026. 

Significant questions have been raised regarding the Republic of China defence sector’s ability to produce modern armoured vehicles. The Defence Ministry in June 2025 confirmed reports that CM-32 Clouded Leopard vehicles were suffering from structural cracks due to poor welding and metal fatigue. The Republic of China Armed Forces rely disproportionately heavily on domestically produced equipment largely due to difficulties importing from abroad, with the Republic of China government’s status as an effective non-state actor, due to the international community’s recognition of the rival People’s Republic of China government based in Beijing, making arms imports highly challenging.