The Tanque Argentino Mediano (TAM) is a family of armoured vehicles developed by the Argentine company TAMSE for the Argentine Military in 1970, it entered service in 1979. Although originally intended as a tank, different variants have been developed.
The TAM met the Argentine Army's requirement for a modern, lightweight and fast tank with a low silhouette and sufficient firepower to defeat contemporary armored threats. Development began in 1974 and resulted in the construction of three prototypes by early 1977 and full-scale production by 1979. Assembly took place at the local TAMSE plant, founded for the purpose by the Argentine government. Economic difficulties halted production in 1983, but manufacturing began anew in 1994 until the army's order of 200 tanks was fulfilled.
The TAM series includes seven different variants, such as a self-propelled howitzer and a mortar carrier vehicle. In total, over 280 such vehicles were built, including armored personnel carriers, artillery and mortar pieces. The TAM and VCTP (Infantry Fighting Vehicles based on the TAM chassis) were manufactured for the Peruvian Army, only to be integrated into the Argentine Army when Peru canceled the contract. The TAM also competed for other export orders, but the TAM was ultimately not exported.
The TAM has never seen combat, although 17 VCTPs were deployed to Croatia for the United Nations UNPROFOR peacekeeping mission.
Development
During the 1960s Argentina sought to replace its aging fleet of tanks, which included British Sherman V Firefly tanks and American M3A1 half-tracks dating from shortly after the Second World War. In their attempts to procure equipment from the United States, Argentina could only secure 50 M41 Walker Bulldogs (undelivered) and 250 M113 armored personnel carriers. When the United States turned down requests for further equipment, the Argentine government turned to the other side of the Atlantic, putting their "Plan Europa" (Plan Europe) into action. It was hoped that European technology could stimulate Argentine industry so the country could produce its own armaments in the future. Argentina procured 80 AMX-13 light tanks, as well as 180 AMX-VCIs and 24 AMX-155 F3s, from the French government, manufacturing around 40 AMX-13s and 60 AMX-VCIs at home. The French AMX-30 and German Leopard 1 were also examined as possible replacements for the Argentine Sherman fleet.
In 1973 the Argentine Ministry of Defense drew up a series of requirements for a tank to enter service in the 1980s. The armored vehicle would weigh no more than , move at a maximum speed of , and cover at least on roads. It would be armed with a modern 105 mm main gun, two machine guns, and grenade launchers. The tank designers also had to take into account Argentina's existing infrastructure, including railroad capacity, bridges and road capacity, as well as the country's varied terrain. In late 1973 the Proyecto de Tanque Argentino Mediano (Argentine Medium Tank Project) was founded with the goal of designing and developing a tank for the Argentine Army. Lacking the experience and the necessary technology, the Argentine government sought collaboration with a foreign company, resulting in a contract with the German company Thyssen-Henschel. The contract called for a transfer of technology resulting in a program to develop a tank in line with the government's requirements and under a technical team that included both German and Argentine engineers. The hull of the German Marder armored personnel carrier was used, and the chassis was strengthened to support the increased weight of the TAM. Two prototypes were manufactured in late 1976 and early 1977, which were put through extensive testing for two years and over a road range of . Simultaneously, another prototype was manufactured to further the investigation of the new vehicle and complete the three prototypes as agreed in the contract.
The new tank's firepower requirements were met by fitting a British Royal Ordnance L7A1 main gun. This gun was later replaced by the modified L7A2 and finally by Rheinmetall's Rh-105-30 gun. This gun is manufactured in Argentina as the FM K.4 Modelo 1L. The Rh-105-30's advantages include low weight, compact size and increased lethality. Unlike the Rh-105-30, the FM K.4 does not have a muzzle brake. The locally built cannon can be elevated to 18 degrees or depressed to -7 degrees on the TAM. The gun's hydraulic recoil mechanism has an extended length of to absorb the recoil force. It is designed to fire the M735A1 armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot, which can penetrate a maximum of at . It can also fire high-explosive anti-tank rounds, high-explosive squash head and smoke rounds. The tank's secondary armaments include a co-axial FN MAG 60-40 general purpose machine gun and a second FN MAG 60-20 mounted on the TAM's turret roof as an anti-aircraft machine gun. The fire control system includes a Nd:YAG laser with a range of and a FLER-HG ballistic computer to compute the gun's fire solutions—helping the gunner aim and hit the target. The tank commander uses a Zeiss PERI-R/TA panoramic periscope, with a 2× and 8× zoom.
The TAM's engine requirements included low weight and volume, but with a fast rate of acceleration and high reliability. The program chose MTU's MB-833 Ka 500 diesel engine, producing at 2,400 rpm. This gives the TAM a power-to-weight ratio of 24 horsepower per tonne and a maximum speed of on road and off-road. With a internal fuel tank, the TAM can travel . Its range is extended to if the vehicle is equipped with two external fuel tanks. The TAM's transmission is a Renk HSWL-204 automatic, with a hydrodynamic torque converter. A double brake system includes hydraulic disk brakes on the roadwheels, and the suspension is a torsion bar.
The TAM's survivability is related to its low profile turret, based on that of the Leopard 1A4s and the Leopard 2, and its physical armor array. It has at 75 degrees on the glacis plate and 32 degrees on the vehicle's sides. This offers protection against anti-armor shells from up to guns. The turret front is protected by of steel armor at an angle of 32 degrees. Although the tank's weight and armor protection are light compared to other main battle tanks, it has the advantage of better tactical mobility over the nation's terrain.
As a private venture, Thyssen-Henschel built a fourth prototype designated TH 301. Completed in 1978, it added a PERI R12 periscope, originally designed for the Leopard 1A4, for the tank commander. The gunner and loader each received a day periscope as well. To enable the crew to fire effectively at night, a low light level television (LLLTV) camera, which moved in elevation with the main gun, was fitted to the mantlet. Furthermore, the tank received a more powerful engine. The improvement program also made provisions to increase the thickness of the armor for additional protection.
Production
Production began in 1979, with the intent to build a total of 512 armored vehicles (200 tanks and 312 VCTP infantry fighting vehicles). Economic problems, however, ended production in 1983 with only 150 TAMs and 100 VCTPs built. These vehicles were produced by an Argentine company, Tanque Argentino Mediano Sociedad del Estado (or TAMSE) founded by the government in March 1980. 70% of the TAM's components were manufactured in Argentina, while the 30% manufactured in Germany corresponded to the transmission, optics and fire control system. In 1983, 20 TAMs and 26 VCTPs were delivered to the Argentine Army after an original order of 80 TAMs by Peru was canceled due to budgetary issues. In 1991, TAMSE and the TAM production line were shut down, although in 1994 TAMSE was reactivated to complete an order for 120 of both TAMs and VCTPs to replace the M4 Shermans in the 2nd Armored Cavalry Brigade of the Argentine Army. By 1995 the Argentine Army was equipped with 200 TAM tanks and 216 VCTP and VCPC armored vehicles. Although 25 VCA-155s were originally planned for production starting in 1990, only 19 were completed and delivered by 1995, along with 50 VCTMs. No other variants of the TAM, including the VCLC, VCA and VCRT were put into production due to budget restrictions.
The TAMSE plant is a facility. The factory is completely covered, with two warehouses for storing components, quality control laboratories, a project office, an engine test room and a firing range. Also participating in the production of TAM and variant components were Argentine companies Military Factories General San Martín (manufacturing the chassis), Río Tercero (turret and armament) and Bator Cocchis, S.A.
Export and operational history
The TAM vehicle family has never seen combat, although it has been deployed on peacekeeping operations. A number of countries have considered acquiring the vehicles, although none have ever been exported.
In 1981, even before the TAM entered service with Argentina, Malaysia signed a contract with the TAMSE company for 102 vehicles, comprising the TAM and its VCTP and VCRT derivatives, which would have been known in Malaysian service as the Lion, Tiger and Elephant, respectively. For a variety of factors, none of these vehicles could be delivered as scheduled and the order was cancelled. (Malaysia chose instead to procure Poland's PT-91.)
The TAM had not entered service in Argentina when the Malvinas/Falklands War of 1982 began. The Argentine Army did not deploy its existing AMX-13 tanks, deeming them unsuited to the boggy off-road conditions in the Malvinas Islands. Panhard AML armoured cars were deployed, for on-road fire support.
In mid-1983, Peru placed a contract for 80 TAMs. Due to budgetary problems the order was canceled after 20 tanks had been completed. A similar order was established by Panama in 1984, and was canceled as well. In 1989 the TAM competed in a tank procurement order from Ecuador, alongside the US Stingray light tank, the Austrian SK-105 Kürassier and the French AMX-13. The TAM achieved 950 out of 1,000 points, while its closest competitor earned 750 points, but in the end Ecuador did not procure any of the vehicles presented.
In the Middle East, both Saudi Arabia and Iran expressed interest in the TAM. The Saudi Arabian deal was scrapped after Israel successfully appealed to Germany to block the use of its technology. The Iranian deal also fell through after both Iraq and Saudi Arabia appealed to Germany. TAMSE subsequently attempted to sell 60 already completed vehicles to Iran, using a Panamanian company, Agrometal, as an intermediary – the company was to receive a 10% commission. After TAMSE reduced the price of the vehicles, the Iranian government lost confidence in the deal and canceled it.
During the 1990s, an Argentine battalion deployed to Yugoslavia as part of United Nations peacekeeping operations was accompanied by 17 VCTPs.
In 1995, with no further export orders likely, the Argentine government permanently halted production and the factory was closed.
Variants