Taiwan’s Army Stands Up First HIMARS Rocket Artillery Unit
Taiwan’s army officially stood up its first unit operating the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System on July 4, with a ceremony at the unit’s new base in Taichung.
The HIMARS are now operated by the Republic of China Army’s 58th Artillery Command, with Taiwanese defense minister Wellington Koo presiding over the ceremony.
In his remarks at the ceremony, Koo said the troops of the unit had already demonstrated excellent performances before and after initial training on the HIMARS such as during an evaluation by Army Command Headquarters in June, and hoped that they would be able to keep up the performances during upcoming exercises like the upcoming edition of the Han Kuang national defense exercise.
Koo added that the induction of the HIMARS increased the Taiwanese military’s precision strike capabilities, enhancing national defense and deterrence capabilities. He urged the unit to adopt innovative and asymmetric tactics to maximize their capabilities, stressing the importance of creating a unit culture that brought out the best in its troops, and of ensuring safety during peacetime training.
This year’s Han Kuang exercises will see the inaugural participation of the HIMARS in live-fire drills that will run from July 9 to 18, twice the length of previous editions of Taiwan’s largest scale military exercise. The additional time will see simulated “gray-zone” harassment from the People’s Republic of China during peacetime, building on previous exercises’ simulated scenarios of a People’s Liberation Army invasion.
Taiwan’s government informed lawmakers that it had received all 11 HIMARS launchers from its initial order in June, following the first live-fire test of the launchers on May 12.
Taipei placed an initial purchase for 11 HIMARS launchers and ammunition in 2021, adding a new order for 18 launchers in 2022 after cancelling plans to purchase M109A6 Paladin self-propelled howitzers. Included in both packages are Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System precision guided rockets and Army Tactical Ballistic Missile System tactical ballistic missiles.