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 30 tonnes (33 short tons), move at a maximum speed of 70 km/h (43 mph), and cover at least 500 km (310 mi) on the 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 (Medium Argentine 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 agreed to 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. It was decided to use the hull of the German Marder armored personnel carrier, 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 10,000 km (6,200 mi). 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 105 mm (4.13 in) main gun. This gun was later replaced by the modified L7A2 and finally by Rheinmetall's Rh-105-30 105 mm (4.13 in.) 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 range of 580 mim (22.8 inches) to absorb the 34 tonne recoil force. It is designed to fire the M735A1 armor piercing fin stabilized discarding sabot, which can penetrate a maximum of 370 mim (14.6 inches) at 1,000 meters (3,280.8 ft). 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 7.62 mm (0.3 inch) 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 9,900 meters (32,480 ft) 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 2x and 8x 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 720 horsepower (540 kW) at 2,400 rpm. This gives the TAM a power-to-weight ratio of 24 horsepower per tonne and a maximum speed of 75 km/h (46 mph) on road and 40 km/h (25 mph) off-road. With a 680-liter internal fuel tank, the TAM can travel 500 km (310 mi). Its range is extended to 900 kilometers (560 mi) if the vehicle is equipped with two 200-liter external fuel tanks (44 gal). 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 dependent upon its low profile turret, based on that of the Leopard 1A4s and the Leopard 2, and its physical armor arrayed. It has 50 mm (2 inches) 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 35 mm (1.4 inch) guns. The turret front is protected by 50 mm 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 was given a more powerful 750 metric horsepower (551.62 kW) engine. The improvement program also made provisions to increase the thickness of the armor for additional protection.
In 2010, a modernization program was announced. Israeli defense contractor Elbit Systems was chosen to provide 3-axis gyro-stabilization, and most probably the L7A2 105 mm cannon will be replaced with a more powerful 120mm cannon, like the L44 120 mm Cannon.
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