TAM

Also known as Tanque Argentino Mediano, TAMSE TAM, Thyssen Henschel TAM

medium tank by TAMSE

Key facts

Type: Main battle tank
Place of origin: Argentina / West Germany
In service: 1983–present
Used by: Argentina
Unit cost: 1,500,000 USD (1983 export price)
Produced: 1979–1991, 1994–1995
Mass: 30.5 t (30.0 long tons; 33.6 short tons)
Length: 6.75 m (22 ft 2 in)
Width: 3.25 m (10 ft 8 in)
Height: 2.42 m (7 ft 11 in)
Armor: 50 mm (hull front and sides), 50 mm (turret front)
Main armament: 105 mm (4.13 in) FM K.4 Modelo 1L

~19 min read

Article

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. Despite it being developed 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 9,600-square-meter (103,000 sq ft) 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.