The Taiwanese military tested its new HIMARS mobile missile system on Wednesday, simulating a strike against invading Chinese forces and demonstrating its ability to open fire and immediately change position to avoid retaliatory strikes, reports "Reuters".
The HIMARS missile system, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, was first tested by Taiwan last year on the east coast. Wednesday's exercise in Taichung was the first time the weapon has been used on the island's west coast.
According to the Taiwanese military, the goal was to demonstrate the system's mobility and ability to withdraw immediately after firing to avoid detection by enemy radar and counterattacks, which "significantly improves battlefield survivability."
"Our HIMARS demonstrated the unit's solid combat capabilities and successfully completed this exercise," said company commander Ko Ming-ping.
HIMARS is among the main strike systems used by Ukraine in its war with Russia. With a range of about 300 kilometers, it can hit targets in China's Fujian province, located across the Taiwan Strait.
Taiwan's west coast, with its beaches and shoals, is seen as the most likely area for a possible Chinese military operation. In response, Taiwan has modernized its military, relying on an asymmetric strategy with mobile and hard-to-attack weapons systems that would turn the island into a hard-to-capture "fortress".
HIMARS will operate in conjunction with Taiwan-developed Thunderbolt-2000 rocket launchers to attack Chinese forces as they leave ports or attempt to land. The systems were used on the first day of the exercise on Tuesday.
China considers Taiwan part of its territory and does not rule out the use of force to establish control over the island. Chinese military aircraft and ships conduct almost daily operations around Taiwan.