A rocket is launched from a Excessive Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) throughout a army live-fire taking pictures coaching in Taichung Metropolis, Taiwan, Wednesday, June 10, 2026.
Chiang Ying-ying/AP
disguise caption
toggle caption
Chiang Ying-ying/AP
TAICHUNG, Taiwan — Taiwan’s army fired rockets in China’s path from “shoot-and-scoot” cellular launchers on Wednesday in an indication of the way it may attempt to repel a Chinese language assault.
Whereas the U.S.-supplied system referred to as HIMARS has been examined earlier than, the most recent live-fire train was the primary time its rockets have been fired into the waters of the slender Taiwan Strait that separates the self-governing island from China.
“Because of the present enemy risk, we are going to proceed HIMARS coaching with unwavering willpower to guard Taiwan because the nation’s strongest drive,” military Sgt. Wang Ming-hui mentioned.
The army mentioned it used reduced-range apply rockets that do not fly very removed from the coast earlier than falling into the water.
China views Taiwan as a renegade province and says it should come underneath its management sooner or later sooner or later. It sends warships and planes into the skies and waters close to the island nearly daily and has held main army workout routines in its neighborhood in recent times. America doesn’t acknowledge Taiwan as a rustic, nevertheless it opposes any change to its standing by drive and is its major provider of weaponry for its protection.
The HIMARS, which stands for Excessive Mobility Artillery Rocket System, is a part of a U.S.-encouraged shift in technique, towards an uneven method designed to maintain China at bay moderately than making an attempt to go head-to-head with big-ticket weapons purchases. The truck-mounted pod of rockets will be pushed out from a hidden place to fireside its missiles, then rapidly taken to a brand new hiding place in what are known as shoot-and-scoot ways.
They have been fired on the second day of workout routines on Taiwan’s west coast, which faces China. The drills, which additionally included 155 mm howitzers, simulated a response to a Chinese language invasion and have been designed to check speedy deployment and precision-strike capabilities.
The HIMARS was the centerpiece of the drill. After receiving a firing order, the automobiles maneuvered into place and launched their rockets with vibrant flashes inside three minutes, demonstrating their mobility.
The U.S. introduced plans in December to promote 82 extra HIMARS methods to Taiwan as a part of a serious arms deal, however that bundle seems to have been placed on maintain after President Donald Trump met Chinese language chief Xi Jinping in Beijing final month.
