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Taiwan Purchased KEW-A1 Tungsten Core Armor-Piercing Discarding Sabot Equipped Tanks from US

Military of Taiwan received the strongest tanks equipped with KEW-A1 tungsten core armor-piercing discarding sabot (APDS) from US. Taiwan has purchased 108 units of M1A2T Abrams tanks for nearly 20 million US dollars each. It is the highest unit price record of the world's already serviced tanks.

According to a press statement issued by the United States Department of State, US has just announced the sale for 108 units of M1A2T Abrams tanks to Taiwan. The supporting ammunition for the M1A2 tanks export to Taiwan this time is the KEW-A1 tungsten core armor-piercing discarding sabot (more than 7,800 rounds). The utility is roughly equivalent to the M829 armor-piercing projectile that was retired in the 1990s. It can penetrate the T-72 armor from a long distance.

US M1A2T Abrams tanks sold to Taiwan image

KEW-A1 tungsten core armor-piercing discarding sabot possess a penetration depth of approximately 550mm to 570mm. This is probably enough to deal with 96A.

KEW-A1 tungsten core armor-piercing discarding sabot image

According to the military sales list from Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) of the United States Department of Defense, Taiwan purchased 2,380 units of 120-mm shells, including a large number of 1,966 units of 120-mm anti-personnel bombs (also known as "grape bombs").

The 120mm anti-personnel bomb may be XM1028. It can be understood as a large-caliber shotgun. It can shoot 1150 tungsten balls in the range of 500~700 meters from the muzzle, which has a good effect on infantry killing. There is also a certain ability to break the wall and anti-light armor, especially suitable for dealing with anti-tank groups.

The US sold 108 M1A2T Abrams tanks worth 2 billion US dollars to Taiwan, each tank is nearly 20 million US dollars, which has set a record for the world's most expensive (serviced) tanks. Although Taiwan got the M1A2C structure that began to serve in the US military from 2017, the modified non-depleted uranium composite armor, similar to the Iraqi Army M1A2 simplified composite armor. But unlike the Iraqi configuration, the Taiwan M1A2T has a complete unmanned remote-control turret. This is the new equipment that even the US military is still updating a small amount.

The M1A2T Abrams tanks equipped with KEW-A1 tungsten core armor-piercing discarding sabot, which are sold from the US to Taiwan, allowing people to speculate on the intentions of America.

 

 

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