DEFENSE / 1st M1A2T tank battalion to be launched Oct. 31: Minister

Taipei, Oct. 23 (CNA) Taiwan's first tank battalion comprising M1A2T Abrams tanks purchased from the United States will be established on Oct. 31, Defense Minister Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said Thursday at the Legislature.

At a meeting of the Legislative Yuan's Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, Democratic Progressive Party lawmaker Chen Chun-yu (陳俊宇) asked Koo when the first combat unit composed of M1A2T tanks would be launched.

Koo replied that the first M1A2T battalion will be established on Oct. 31 after the tanks pass operational testing, adding that an inauguration ceremony will be held to mark the occasion.

Chen went on to ask Koo whether a model of an armor piercing round containing depleted uranium on display at the Kengzikou Range in Hsinchu County, where an M1A2T platoon is conducting a live-fire shooting exercise, is an indication Taiwan will seek to acquire the ammunition from the United States.

The ammunition is not in the M1A2T procurement package and the model came standard with the tanks, according to local media reports, Koo said.

Answering the question on Koo's behalf, Army Chief of Staff Chen Chien-yi (陳建義) said the Army has purchased six types of ammunition along with the tanks, including high-explosive anti-tank warheads, Armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS), and practice rounds.

Taiwan has currently received 80 of the 108 M1A2T tanks it purchased from the U.S.