Taiwan is advancing its D3 “Cheetah” 105 mm wheeled armored vehicle program toward mass production from 2027, pending successful completion of operational testing and allocation of defense budget funds for that fiscal year. The D3 is the third iteration of the Project Cheetah family, following the D1 and D2 prototypes, and is designed primarily for direct fire support and anti-tank missions.
Built on the second-generation 8×8 Clouded Leopard II / CM-32 Yunpao II “M2” chassis, the D3 features a lowered profile, improved armor protection and an ammunition capacity of about 33 rounds of 105 mm. Its main armament is a low-recoil 105 mm rifled gun derived from the US M68A2, capable of firing APFSDS rounds with an estimated penetration of roughly 500 mm of rolled homogeneous armor at 2,000 m. Secondary armament includes a 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun, a remote weapon station with a 12.7 mm machine gun and 12-tube smoke grenade launchers.
The vehicle, with a combat weight of around 28 tons and a four-person crew, is powered by a diesel engine of about 600 hp, offering a top speed above 100 km/h and a road range of approximately 500 km. Taiwan’s army plans an initial order of about 178 D3s, with potential expansion toward roughly 350 units, while internal planning documents suggest a possible long-term objective of around 500 vehicles. The first units are expected to replace aging M41D light tanks on frontline islands such as Kinmen, supporting an asymmetric defense posture focused on mobile, dispersed, hit-and-run operations in urban and coastal areas.