Taiwan gets US Abrams tanks, hardening final defenses in an invasion

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — Taiwan, which ratified a record defense budget of $20.2 billion in August as it contemplates rising Chinese aggression, received a first batch of 38 M1A2T Abrams tanks on home shores this month.

After being unloaded at Taipei’s port on Dec. 15, the tanks were transported to the Armor Training Command in Hsinchu County southwest of Taipei. Around ten will remain there for training purposes.

The M1A2T is a customized M1A2 SEPv2 Abrams version, and these are the first new tanks Taiwan has received in nearly a quarter of a century. Taiwan previously received M60A3 TTS tanks from the U.S. between 1995 and 2001.

Following this month’s first batch, 42 more Abrams tanks would be delivered next year, and the final 28 in 2026, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. Taiwan had ordered them in 2019.

Chen Kuoming, a Taipei-based military analyst, told Defense News the weapons are meant “most importantly” for defending the Taipei capital area. They will outfit an armored brigade in Linkou in Taipei, and another brigade in Hukou in Hsinchu.

The Abrams represents a significant step up in terms of firepower and protection compared to the existing fleet of M60A3 and M48H/CM11 models, which are armed with a 105mm main gun.

Chen said those tank types were too old and outdated, although 108 new Abrams “are just not enough” to cover replacements in central and southern Taiwan as well.

Tanks essentially represent a final line of defense against any Chinese invasion. Taiwan’s earlier lines of defense against an amphibious assault include anti-ship missiles, artillery and rockets as well as attack helicopters.

“From the Russia-Ukraine war, we’ve seen drones and loitering munitions attacking tanks,” Chen said. He therefore expressed a need for the new M1A2Ts to be upgraded against such aerial attacks.

In that context, the analyst warned of diminishing returns for tank investments. Instead, he suggested the budget should be used on other equipment like small drones and loitering munitions, Javelin antitank missiles, Stinger air defense missiles or lighter armored vehicles.

“I want to encourage army officers to think about future wars, so they’ll change their thoughts about buying heavier tanks,” he urged.

Taiwan is also in receipt of an initial 11 of 29 M142 HIMARS rocket launchers. The defense ministry revealed that the first tranche arrived in October, with 18 more systems due before the end of 2026. These HIMARS were delivered to the 58th Artillery Command in Taichung, a city midway down Taiwan’s west coast.

Taiwan’s army has received a first batch of an undisclosed number of MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) from the U.S. too. Fired from the HIMARS launchers, the ATACMS’s range of 186 miles (300km) puts mainland China within strike range.