Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday that the island received its first batch of US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), which it first ordered in 2020.
The HIMARS is a truck-mounted mobile rocket launch system that can fire a variety of munitions, including the Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), which Taiwan has purchased. The ATACMS have a range of about 186 miles.
The US approval of a sale to Taiwan for HIMARS and ATACMS in 2020 was significant since it marked the first time the US offered weapons that could reach mainland China. The sale also included AGM-84H cruise missiles, which have a range of 168 miles and can be fired by Taiwan’s F-16 fighter jets.
Taiwan ordered 11 of the HIMARS systems in 2020 and ordered another 18 in 2022. The island’s Defense Ministry said the first 11 have arrived, and Taiwanese troops are reportedly undergoing training to use them. The US has deployed troops to Taiwan for training in recent years, including on the outer islands of Kinmen, which are just a few miles off mainland China’s coast.
Taiwanese troops were recently in the US training on HIMARS at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported that at least 17 soldiers from Taiwan completed training on the HIMARS in August, and Fort Sill’s Facebook page shared a photo of the Taiwanese troops.
The US has continued to increase military support for Taiwan despite constant warnings from China that the island is the “first red line” in US-China relations that must not be crossed.
The US has always sold weapons to Taiwan since Washington severed diplomatic relations with Taipei in 1979 as part of a normalization deal with China. Last year, the US started providing US-funded military aid, marking a significant escalation in US support for the island. In September, President Biden approved a $567 million arms package for Taiwan using the Presidential Drawdown Authority, which allows him to ship weapons straight from US military stockpiles.
