The nation’s military has boosted its self-defense capability with the establishment of a new company equipped with the US-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).
The company, part of the army’s 58th Artillery Command, is Taiwan’s first HIMARS unit.
Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄), who presided over the formation ceremony in Taichung on Friday, called the unit a significant addition to the nation’s defensive strength, saying it would help deter adversaries from starting a war.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of National Defense via CNA
The unit is made up of top-performing soldiers who received training in the US, according to the Ministry of National Defense.
The HIMARS can be equipped with either a pod of six 227mm rockets or a single Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), which has a range of up to 300km.
Taiwan has purchased 29 HIMARS launchers from the US and received the first 11 last year.
On May 12, the 58th Artillery Command conducted the first live-fire HIMARS drill at Jiupeng Base in Pingtung County’s Manzhou Township (滿州). The system was also tested by the Army Command Headquarters last month.
Institute for National Defense and Security Research researcher Shu Hsiao-huang (舒孝煌) yesterday said the army has gained a boost to its long-range and strategic deterrence against China after receiving the HIMARS.
The HIMARS, a type of wheeled multi-launch rocket system, is a highly mobile platform capable of engaging targets with precision fire at a maximum range of 300km, if the ATACMS is used, he said.
However, the Taiwanese army has to revamp its artillery operations doctrine to employ the HIMARS properly, he said.
The obsolete doctrine of concentrating guns and rocket systems en masse should be replaced with dispersed deployment of units, decentralized fire control and a greater emphasis on precision, he said.
Used skillfully, the rocket artillery systems would enable a stronger defense of air bases and troop concentrations in western Taiwan proper against the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) long-range weapons, he said.
Separately, the military is mulling a NT$90 billion (US$3.1 billion) project to buy 168 M109A7 self-propelled howitzers and ammunition carriers from the US, quadrupling the 40 guns it originally planned, defense sources said yesterday.
The number of guns the military wishes to buy would be enough to replace all aging self-propelled howitzers of the armed forces, the sources said on condition of anonymity.
The military began contemplating scaling up its plans to buy newer US-made artillery systems following President William Lai’s (賴清德) announcement in February that defense spending would be increased to 3 percent of GDP, they said.
The howitzers are part of a NT$300 billion to NT$500 billion special budget being planned by the defense ministry to buy US arms, they said.
The form and total cost of the package have not been finalized, because the US has advised Taiwan to buy more missiles and drones, not helicopters or airborne early warning and control systems, they said.
In response, the military is making plans to ask the US to export loitering munitions, uncrewed kamikaze boats, command and control systems, and artillery systems, the sources said.
The M109A7 self-propelled howitzer is an armored artillery vehicle with a 39 caliber 155mm gun capable of engaging targets out to 30km with conventional shells and 40km with Excalibur shells.
On reports that the army might increase its order for M109A7systems, Shu said the army should phase out all towed artillery pieces in favor of self-propelled guns.
Taiwan should not rule out buying European artillery systems, some of which possess superior mobility to the M109, he added.
Total conversion to precision fire, dispersed deployment of units and concentration of fire would allow Taiwanese artillery to inflict heavy casualties on the PLA before its forces could land in Taiwan, he said.
Such capabilities, if achieved, would serve as a powerful deterrent against China, he said.
Additional reporting by Fang Wei-li
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