Taiwan would have the most High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) outside the US once all deliveries are completed, highlighting both the need to rethink the army’s role and deepening Taiwan-US relations, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said yesterday.
Wang said the proven rocket artillery system would significantly bolster the army’s long-range precision strike capabilities and that the acquisition could alter the army’s role.
The army would no longer have to rely entirely on the navy or air force, Wang said; instead, the army could support operations in an anti-aircraft role.
Photo: EPA
Wang’s comments might refer to the HIMARS’ capability to serve as a launch platform for the anti-air Surface-Launched Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (SLAMRAAM).
Lockheed Martin completed proof-of-concept tests using the HIMARS to launch modified AMRAAM missiles at the White Sands Missile Range in 2009.
After the completion of deliveries, Taiwan will have 111 launchers, the largest concentration of HIMARS outside of the US Army, which fields 400, Wang said.
Wang said he could not confirm whether some of the munitions included in the US$11.1 billion package would range out to 500km, adding that the US had not outright said it would not sell such models.
Wang’s comments refer to a social media post by military expert Mei Fu-hsing (梅復興) yesterday, which said that the acquisition of a large number of HIMARS makes it highly likely that Taiwan’s military will seek to obtain Land-based Anti-Ship Missiles, officially known as PrSM Increment 2, which ranges out to 1,000km.
Taiwan had initially purchased 11 HIMARS in 2021 and ordered 18 more in 2022 after the US announced that deliveries of M109A6 Paladin howitzers would be delayed.
On Dec. 17 last year, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency posted on its Web site the approval of 82 additional HIMARS sets for Taiwan as part of a US$11.1 billion arms package.
The deal reportedly included 420 Army Tactical Missile Systems and other strike munitions; 60 M109A7 self-propelled howitzers; Altius kamikaze drones; tactical mission network software; 1,050 Javelin missiles; 1,545 TOW-2B missiles and AH-1W attack helicopter spare parts.
Additional reporting by Aaron Tu
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