CM-11 Brave Tiger

The CM-11 Brave Tiger (勇虎式戰車) is a Main Battle Tank (MBT) that was developed by the American General Dynamics and the Republic of China Army (ROCA) Armored Vehicle Development Center It was introduced to the public on 14 April 1990. Being a variant of the M48 Patton, it is also known as the M48H Main Battle Tank.

Development History
The Republic of China established the Armored Vehicle Development Center in 1980, and was tasked to develop military armored vehicles, and had cooperated with General Dynamics to develop the CM-11. The development of the tank has two main purposes, first was to avoid the limitations set by the US-PRC Joint Communique (17 August Communique), and second was to allow the ROCA to acquire Second Generation MBTs.

The CM-11 is a hybrid tank using the M48A3 turret with the M60A3 tank hull, combined with the new M1 tank's Fire-Control System (FCS). The United States designated it as M48H, where the "H" means Hybrid, and the Republic of China designated CM-11 and named it Brave Tiger.

Design
In 1988, two prototype CM-11 was finished, and was ordered to build 450 CM-11. The M60A3 hull was procured from the United States in 1987, and the M48A3 turret and the M68A1 105mm main cannon was produced by the Army Ordnance Maintenance and Development Center. The Commander's turret was procured from Israel with a M2 Browning 12.7 mm machine gun, the loader operates a M240 7.62 mm machine gun, the coaxial machine gun is also a M240. Both sides of the turret has mounted one M239 Smoke Grenade Launcher, like the M60A3 tank.

Advantages
The greatest features and advantages of the CM-11 is it has the same level of digital/ analogy hybrid ballistic calculator as the M1A1 Abrams MBT; it has a two-dimensional sighting and gun stabilization system, more complete than the M60A3's one-dimensional stabilizing device; combining the AN/VSG-2 Thermal imager, AN/VVS-2 Image Intensifier, AN/GVS-5 Nd-YAG Laser rangefinder, allowing the CM-11 to have Fire-on-the Move and Night Combat capabilities, it also have the highest probability of first round hit compare to all ROCA tanks.

Disadvantages
Disadvantages of the CM-11 is its outdated design and armor. The China's Type 96G and Type 99 both armed with 125 mm main cannon, and the CM-11 could not offer significant protection from 125 mm APFSDS and HEAT shots.

The ROCA knew this disadvantage very early, and tried to introduce the French GIAT Explosive Reactive Armor (ERA), but the additional ERA installations caused excessive stress on the torsion bars, so plans to install ERA on the tank was put on hold until a solution is found. Its engine is rather old with lower horsepower.

During the Spring Festival in 2012, the ROCA's 542 Armor Brigade of the 6th Army Corps initiated their combat readiness drill, and shown a CM-11 installed with the ERA for the first time. Developed by CSIST, angling was applied to the ERA design to increase deflection probability of incoming shots and reduce the probability of penetrating the hull which may cause damage to the tank's internal modules and wounding the crew inside.