The 6th Army Command is to conduct live-fire anti-armor drills in Hsinchu County from Wednesday to Friday next week for the second consecutive month of its “Tianma” (天馬) exercise as Taiwan’s anti-armor units step up training with newly fielded TOW 2B missiles.
Taiwan has received the full package it procured under its High-Performance Anti-Armor Missile Program, which includes 1,700 TOW 2B RF anti-armor missiles, 100 Improved Target Acquisition Systems and 100 M1167 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles, the Ministry of National Defense said.
The NT$11.815 billion (US$374.51 million) program, launched in 2018, aimed to bolster Taiwan’s asymmetric warfare capabilities.
Photo courtesy of the Military News Agency
The equipment has been distributed to military units, which have begun training and familiarizing themselves with the new systems, contributing to a higher tempo of live-fire exercises in recent months.
The Tianma exercise is the military’s major anti-armor live-fire exercise, and typically features TOW and Javelin missiles.
The exercises are usually conducted at coastal firing areas in Pingtung County, such as Fangshan (枋山), Jioupeng (九鵬) and Jialyutang (加祿堂), due to range and safety restrictions.
In line with the ministry’s push for combat-oriented training, the exercise this year was conducted at tactical positions within each combatant command’s area of responsibility, allowing troops to train in their designated operational areas and familiarize themselves with local terrain.
The command’s latest exercise is to be held at Fongkeng Beach (鳳坑海灘) in Hsinchu County’s Sinfong Township (新豐) from 8am to noon every day.
That follows the army’s Tianma exercise at the Kengzinkou Range (坑子口訓場) on Aug. 27, underscoring the increased training tempo of northern Taiwan’s anti-armor units.
The nation has conducted exercises since March, when the Second Combat Area in eastern Taiwan reopened a firing range at the mouth of Taitung County’s Taimali River (太麻里溪) for the first time in 30 years.
In June, the 6th Army Command conducted a live-fire drone and Tianma exercise in Yilan County, with an anti-armor platoon from the army’s 584th Combined Arms Brigade conducting qualification firing with TOW 2A missiles and validation firing with TOW 2B missiles.
The TOW 2B RF uses radio-frequency guidance rather than the wire guidance employed by the older TOW 2A, giving it a maximum range of 4,500m.
Its key feature is its top-attack capability: The missile flies above the target’s line of sight before detonating over an enemy tank and directing its warhead downward against the vehicle’s more vulnerable roof armor.
The command’s intensive top-attack drills at Fongkeng Beach are intended to bolster northern Taiwan’s coastal defenses and improve its ability to counter armored vehicles attempting an amphibious landing.
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