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.
- Taiwan to stream Abrams live-fire training in Hsinchu ThursdayTaiwan's military is set to live-stream a round of live-fire training sessions on Thursday featuring its newly delivered M1A2T Abrams tanks, allowing the public to witness the training results firsthand, according to the Ministry of National Defense (MND).07/07/2025 04:21 PM
- Taiwan holds ceremony at Hualien Air Base to mark retirement of F-5sA ceremony was held Friday at Hualien Air Base to mark the official retirement of the Air Force's F-5 series jets after more than 50 years of patrolling Taiwan's skies.07/04/2025 04:24 PM
- First of second batch of indigenous stealth missile corvettes launched: SourceThe first of the remaining five Tuo Chiang-class stealth missile corvettes being domestically built for the Navy was officially launched in a ceremony presided over by Navy Commander Admiral Tang Hua (唐華) on Wednesday, according to an anonymous military source.07/03/2025 05:40 PM
- Society
11 indicted for smuggling over 4,500 parrot eggs to China
07/07/2025 10:14 PM - Society
Power grid disrupted, offshore turbines undamaged by Typhoon Danas
07/07/2025 10:04 PM - Business
Taiwan's non-alcoholic drink output tops NT$60 billion in 2024: MOEA
07/07/2025 09:28 PM - Society
Tainan suspends work, classes in 9 districts hit by Typhoon Danas
07/07/2025 09:23 PM - Society
Magnitude 5.0 earthquake strikes northeastern Taiwan
07/07/2025 08:37 PM