Taiwan’s first batch of 38 M1A2T Abrams tanks procured from the US is to be commissioned late next month after training was completed and they struck all of the targets in a live-fire exercise, a military source familiar with the matter said yesterday.
Taiwan in 2019 inked a deal for 108 M1A2T tanks from the US during US President Donald Trump’s first administration, with the Ministry of National Defense allocating NT$40.524 billion (US$1.34 billion) from 2019 to 2027 for the procurement.
The M1A2Ts, called the “world’s strongest tank,” would be stationed with the 6th Army Corps to defend northern Taiwan.
Photo: Fang Wei-li, Taipei Times
The first shipment of 38 tanks arrived at the Port of Taipei in December last year.
Instructors returned from training in the US in November last year and began training on the new vehicles in February.
On July 10, the military conducted the first live-fire exercises with the tanks at the Kengzikou Range (坑子口訓練場) in Hsinchu County, with four tanks firing a combined 19 rounds from their 120mm cannons at targets modeled after Chinese tanks.
They logged a perfect hit rate using the hunter-killer system.
The second shipment of 42 units arrived in July and a final shipment of 28 tanks is expected to be delivered at the beginning of next year, the source said.
Both shipments are to undergo the same training as the first batch before commissioning, they said.
With military personnel responsible for operating the tanks having completed training, a commissioning ceremony would be held before the end of next month at the Hsinchu County-based 584th Armored Brigade in Hukou Township (湖口), the source said.
A commissioning ceremony for the first batch is to be held late next month at the Armored Training Command in Hukou, they said.
The armed forces operates about 1,000 tanks, including the CM-11 Brave Tiger and M60A3 models, both of which have been in service for more than two decades.
Aside from buying the more advanced M1A2T tanks, the military has also invested in new engines for the M60A3s, as well as upgrading the firing systems for their main guns to give them “hunter-killer capability,” meaning a tank can engage one target while tracking another.
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