The Republic of China Armed Forces will establish a new formation focused on M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) operations.

The plan comes after the military’s first live-fire trials of the weapon in May as part of an exercise at the Jiupeng base in Pingtung County. A six-month pre-training was also conducted to prepare warfighters for the system.

Taiwan’s new HIMARS unit will be inducted next month, a source told local news agency Liberty Times, with personnel to comprise members of the 10th Army Corps – 58th Artillery Command.

Currently, the East Asian government is engaged in the procurement of up to 29 HIMARS systems from the US. The deal includes training shells, simulators, more than 800 guided rockets, and about 84 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS).

Taipei received the first tranche of the order from HIMARS developer Lockheed Martin in November 2024, which had 11 launchers, 16 ATACMS, and two simulators.

The remaining missiles will be shipped later this year, according to the Taiwanese defense ministry. Meanwhile, the delivery of the second HIMARS batch, 20 ATACMS, and rockets will be completed in 2026.

The M142 HIMARS

The HIMARS is a 7-meter (23-foot) launcher operated by a crew of three and carried by an M1140 Medium Tactical Vehicle truck.

It can fire in all directions and neutralize targets up to 499 kilometers (310 miles) away, depending on the missile type.

The weapon is powered by a 6.6-liter Caterpillar diesel engine with 290 horsepower for a range of 480 kilometers (299 miles) and a speed of 85 kilometers (53 miles) per hour.

In the field, Taiwan’s HIMARS systems are expected to complement the locally-built Thunderbolt 2000 MLRS, providing the military with a “high-low” attack capability across all domains.

Practicing With Abrams Tanks

Taiwan’s inauguration of its HIMARS command in August will be facilitated simultaneously with a large-scale live-fire training of its M1A2T Abrams main battle tanks, Liberty Times reported.

The heavy fleet, purchased in 2019, supports Taiwan’s objective to expand its firepower in response to regional security concerns.

The first batch of 38 planned Abrams under this project arrived in Taiwan in December 2024. The armed forces received training two months later to familiarize themselves with the vehicle.