This image from the state-run Central News Agency shows Taiwan's military firing a U.S.-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, for the first time on May 12, 2025. (CNA)
Taiwanese troops fired U.S.-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, for the first time this week, sending test rockets into the Pacific Ocean from coastal firing positions.
Eleven launchers under 58th Artillery Command fired 33 rockets on Monday from Jiupeng Base in the southern part of the island, Taiwan’s state-run Central News Agency reported that day.
The self-governing, democratic island is strengthening its defenses to deter China from attempting an invasion or blockade.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has stated his intent to reunite Taiwan with mainland China, by force if necessary. Beijing is building amphibious forces and has sent increasing numbers of military aircraft toward Taiwan and staged naval drills around the island in recent years.
Officially, the United States has not diplomatically recognized Taiwan since normalizing relations with the People’s Republic of China in 1979. But the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 maintains de facto ties and requires the U.S. to provide Taiwan with weapons “of a defensive nature” and “resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security, or the social or economic system, of the people on Taiwan.”
HIMARS is designed to strike targets on land and is credited with evening the odds for Ukraine in its three-year war against invading Russian forces.
This image from the state-run Central News Agency shows Taiwan's military preparing to fire a U.S.-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, for the first time on May 12, 2025. (CNA)
The U.S. Army is also employing HIMARS in coastal defense drills in the Philippines.
The system can be adapted for anti-ship missions, Maj. Gen. Thomas Savage, commander of the U.S. 1st Marine Division, told reporters observing live-fire training on the country’s western island of Palawan on April 28.
The Taiwanese artillery unit’s deputy commander, Col. Ho Chih-chung, said technicians from HIMARS manufacturer Lockheed Martin attended Monday’s drill, according to CNA.
HIMARS carries a six-pack of rockets, two precision strike missiles or one Army tactical missile. The system has a proven range of up to 186 miles with munitions in development to reach beyond 310 miles, according to the defense contractor’s website.
“HIMARS employs a shot and scoot capability which enhances crew and platform survivability in a high threat environment,” the website states. “HIMARS can emplace, fire, relocate and conduct reload in a matter of minutes dramatically reducing an adversary’s ability to locate and target HIMARS.”
Taiwan’s military didn’t provide details about how the live-fire drill went.
The island purchased 29 HIMARS from the U.S. with the first shipment of 11 delivered in 2024, the agency reported.
A second batch of 18 HIMARS is scheduled for delivery next year, a year earlier than originally planned, the agency reported.
