TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan is conducting its first High Mobility Artillery Rocket System live-fire test next week at the Jiupeng base in Pingtung.
According to the Army, missile launches will take place on May 12. The test is scheduled from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., per Liberty Times. A maximum altitude is set at 20,000 feet.
The system’s joint fire coordination and command mechanisms were tested during the Han Kuang 41 Computer-Assisted Command Post Exercise in April.
Taiwan initially ordered 11 HIMARS from the US, but after the Army decided not to purchase 40 Paladin M109A6 howitzer systems, it purchased an additional 18 HIMARS systems. It also ordered 84 Army Tactical Missile Systems.
The first shipment, consisting of 11 HIMARS launchers and 2 training simulators, arrived last year and was received by the Army’s 58th Artillery Command. The first batch of 16 ATACMS missiles was delivered in January, and the remaining 48 are expected to arrive within the first quarter of this year.
The ATACMS is a long-range guided missile that has a 500-lb class blast fragmentation warhead, according to Lockheed Martin. It has a maximum range of 300 kilometers.
