DEFENSE/Newly acquired HIMARS, missiles, drones to be tested during Han Kuang

Taipei, July 7 (CNA) Rockets, missile systems and drones newly acquired by Taiwan's military will be put to the test during this year's live-fire portion of annual Han Kuang exercises, which run from Wednesday until July 18.

Among the armaments set to make their debut are U.S.-supplied Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), TOW 2B anti-tank missiles, newly purchased unmanned aviation vehicles, and a domestically built land-based version of the Sky Sword II missile, according to the Ministry of National Defense (MND).

Asked to comment on the significance of the new weapon systems' inclusion in this year's Han Kuang, Shu Hsiao-huang (舒孝煌), a researcher at the government-funded Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR), used the HIMARS as an example.

The U.S.-made rocket system has an extended range of 70 kilometers, much farther than those currently used by Taiwan's military, according to Shu.

The military should take the Han Kuang exercises as an opportunity to assess how the longer range of HIMARS could impact Taiwan's overall rocket deployment strategy, Shu added.

Meanwhile, up to 22,000 reservists will participate in this year's 10-day exercises to test their ability to provide brigade-sized, rather than battalion-sized, support.

The MND announced last week that the live-fire portion of this year's Han Kuang military exercises will last 10 days -- twice as long as in previous years -- and will place added emphasis on unscripted scenarios and China's "gray zone" tactics, which involve coercive actions that fall short of open conflict.

The annual Han Kuang exercises, which have served as Taiwan's major war games since 1984, consist of live-fire drills and computerized tabletop war games.

The drills aim to test Taiwan's combat readiness in the face of a possible Chinese invasion.

This year's tabletop war games were conducted from April 5-18.