Fri, Apr 04, 2025 page1

• New US weapons to be tested at Han Kuang drills

  • By Fang Wei-li, Lo Tien-pin and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporters, with staff writer
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  Taiwan’s newly procured US weapon systems are to be tested in the 41st annual Han Kuang exercise later this year, the Ministry of National Defense said on Wednesday.

  The drills would emphasize responses to “gray zone” activities, speed in preparing for combat, command authority delegation and national-level threat assessment, the ministry’s Joint Operations Planning Division Director Major General Tung Chi-hsing (董冀星) told a regular news conference in Taipei.

  The exercises would additionally focus on capabilities for mounting in-depth defense, logistics, civil defense integration and utilizing new weapons systems, he said.

  

  A handout photo made available by the Ministry of National Defense shows Taiwanese army personnel inspecting M1A2T tanks upon their arrival inside an army base in Hsinchu on Dec. 16.

  Photo: EPA-EFE / Taiwan Military News Agency

  Last year, the armed forces began fielding M1A2T main battle tanks, High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, TOW-2B anti-tank guided missiles, land-based Harpoon anti-ship missiles and different types of uncrewed aerial vehicles, among other novel systems, he said.

  The drills would test Taiwanese commanders’ ability to effectively utilize these key asymmetric assets operationally, Tung said.

  In February, the military’s senior staff held a map-based wargame to design this year’s Han Kuang exercise, he said.

  From tomorrow to April 18, the headquarters of various commands would simulate military operations against Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) forces in varying situations ranging from “gray zone” skirmishes to high-intensity conflicts, Tung said.

  This part of the drills would make use of the Joint Theater Level Simulation Platform, he said, adding that the headquarters involved are expected to fight continuously for the duration.

  Field maneuvers would take place from July 9 to 18 in and around Taiwan proper, including the outlying islands, airspace and surrounding seas, he said.

  Leaders at all levels are to design field problems and lead troops in combat practice in their area of responsibility, Tung said.

  The field exercises would be held in conjunction with large-scale civil defense drills, including simulated defense of built-up areas, he said.

  Military personnel are to conduct the drills fully armed and equipped, and live ammunition would be used in parts of the exercise, Tung added.

  Separately, a defense official yesterday said that the fifth mobile squadron of the navy’s Hai Feng Shore-Based Anti-ship Missile Group achieved operational readiness last month, five months after its founding in November last year.

  Counting the recently formed mobile squadron, the navy’s dedicated land-based anti-ship missile group consists of 12 squadrons, including six static squadrons, five mobile squadrons and one support squadron, counting the recently formed mobile unit, the source said on condition of anonymity.

  Starting on Jan. 1 next year, the Hai Feng Shore-Based Anti-ship Missile Group is expected to be reorganized as the Littoral Combat Command, consisting of northern, central, southern and eastern “strike groups,” they said.

  The anti-ship missile group is armed with the indigenously developed Hsiung Feng II and Hsiung Feng III family of missiles and their extended range variants, in addition to US-made Harpoon missiles currently being fielded, they said.

  By the time the group’s constituent squadrons receive their full complement of weapons, they would be expected to achieve a 70 percent kill probability against the PLA’s surface combatants and transports, they said.

  The Hsiung Feng II missile has an effective range of 148km, while the Hsiung Feng IIE — the extended range variant — has an estimated effective range of 160km to 200km and possesses electronic warfare countermeasures on a par with the most advanced western systems.

  The Hsiung Feng III missile has an estimated effective range of 150km to 200km, and a maximum range of 250km.

  The Hsiung III missile’s extended range variant entering into service is said to have a maximum range of 400km, significantly more than other systems in the navy’s arsenal.

  The AGM-84L-1 Harpoon Block II missiles Taiwan bought from the US are the most updated version of the venerable weapon system with largely classified capabilities.
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