TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan's military has opted for 18 additional high-mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS) after scuttling its plan to purchase self-propelled howitzers while observing Ukrainian victories on the battlefield.
In its proposed defense budget for 2023, which it submitted to the Legislative Yuan on Wednesday (Aug. 31), the Army plans to acquire a total of 29 HIMARS, 18 more than it had originally planned, reported CNA. The Army is also eyeing 84 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), 64 more than previously planned.
The budget proposal shows that the Army has decided not to purchase 40 M109A6 "Paladin" self-propelled howitzers and instead opted for the additional HIMARS and ATACMS platforms instead. It is also requesting 864 precision rockets that can be fired by HIMARS for a distance of up to 300 kilometers.
In the 2022 National Defense Budget, the Army had allocated NT$15.4 billion for the purchase of 11 HIMARS platforms from the U.S. from 2020 to 2027. However, the 2023 defense budget has more than doubled to NT$32.5 billion to purchase the additional long-range weaponry with the final delivery date to be 2027.
The Army pointed out that in order to buy time for troops rushing to reinforce outlying islands in the event of an invasion, the best solution is to use such long-range weaponry to paralyze enemy troops attempting to conduct amphibious assaults. Since the U.S. began sending HIMARS to the Ukrainian military, it has used the weapon to great effect by targeting Russian command posts, ammunition dumps, and bridges, and now appears poised to mount a counter-offensive in Kherson.
