1st batch of 300-km range U.S. missile system arrive in Taiwan: Source

Taipei, Nov. 10 (CNA) A first batch of United States-made Army missile systems with a maximum range of 300 kilometers have arrived in Taiwan, a military source told CNA Saturday.

The first batch of MGM-140 Army tactical missile systems (ATACMS) Taiwan bought from the U.S. has recently been delivered, the unnamed source said. However, they did not disclose the exact number of units delivered in the first batch, citing confidentiality.

The ATACMS is a supersonic tactical ballistic missile originally designed and manufactured by defunct U.S. defense company Ling-Temco-Vought and now sold by Lockheed Martin.

Its longest-range variant can fly up to 190 miles (300 km) and can be fired from the tracked M270 multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) and the wheeled M142 high mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS).

The ATACMS would equip Taiwan's military with the capability to counter a Chinese attack because it could hit targets in China should Beijing launch an invasion, said Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-funded Institute of National Defense and Security Research (INDSR).

The U.S. has given the same weapon system to Ukraine, and it has proven effective in enabling Ukraine to strike Russian-occupied territory from afar, Su said.

The recent shipment is part of the ATACMS and HIMARS M142 launchers the U.S. approved for sale in late 2020.

A total of 64 ATACMS and 11 HIMARS M142 launchers were approved for sale to Taiwan on Oct. 21, 2020 under the previous Donald Trump administration.

Taiwan later decided to order an additional 18 HIMARS and 20 ATACMS, bringing the total to 29 and 84, respectively, after scrapping its original plan to buy M109A6 howitzer artillery weapons.

The Ministry of National Defense (MND) confirmed last week that the first batch of 11 HIMARS had arrived in Taiwan and were sent to the 58th Artillery Command of the 10th Army Corps in Taichung, where soldiers are now being trained on how to operate the system.

The unnamed source told CNA Saturday that the recently delivered ATACMS would also be assigned to the 58th Artillery Command.

Asked to confirm, Army Command Headquarters would not comment on the reported delivery of ATACMS to Taiwan, saying only that the project to deliver the weapon system to Taiwan has been on time and on schedule.

Su said the then Trump administration approved the sales of the ATACMS to Taiwan back in 2020 because at around that time, Washington also ended decades-long restrictions governing the maximum range of Tokyo's and Seoul's ballistic missiles.

Restrictions on missile ranges have become outdated given the increasing threats from North Korea and the People's Republic of China (PRC) from their respective long-range missile programs, Su said.