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Taiwan shows off latest home-made armoured vehicle

Taiwan's military showed off its latest domestically produced armoured vehicle on Thursday, the CM-34 Clouded Leopard, at a remote manufacturing site in the mountains of the central part of the island.

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Taiwan shows off latest home-made armoured vehicle

While Taiwan relies on the United States for many of its weapons, like fighter jets, President Tsai Ing-wen has been pushing for a greater emphasis on Taiwanese-designed and made armaments, the most high profile of which is new submarines.

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Taiwan shows off latest home-made armoured vehicle

The eight-wheeled CM-34, which entered service in 2019, is armed with the Mk44 Bushmaster 30mm chain gun, made by Northrop Grumman and with an effective firing range of 3 km (1.9 miles). It is designed to be highly mobile, operating in all weathers.

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Taiwan shows off latest home-made armoured vehicle

Facility chief Wang Wen-hung told reporters the plant in Jiji can produce six vehicles a month, and it has already delivered 173 of them to the military out of a total order for 305.

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Taiwan shows off latest home-made armoured vehicle

It is named after Taiwan's clouded leopard. Though now believed to be extinct, the animal is revered by some of Taiwan's indigenous people who consider it sacred.

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Taiwan shows off latest home-made armoured vehicle

The development of the vehicle has not been without problems.

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Taiwan shows off latest home-made armoured vehicle

Last year, several senior executives from supplier companies were jailed for fraud over procuring substandard parts, including some from China, for an earlier model, the CM-32.

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Taiwan shows off latest home-made armoured vehicle
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Taiwan shows off latest home-made armoured vehicle
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Taiwan shows off latest home-made armoured vehicle
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Taiwan shows off latest home-made armoured vehicle