[Source/Observation Network by Mountain Cat]

According to reports by Taiwan's United Daily News Network, the M142 HIMARS rocket artillery system purchased by the Taiwanese military from the U.S. conducted its first live-fire test after arriving on the island at Jiupeng Base in Pingtung yesterday. During the shooting process, there were two instances of "signal anomalies," causing the shooting to be suspended. The report also stated that personnel from the original American manufacturer were present on-site to "provide technical support."

HIMARS firing during the test by the Taiwanese military United Daily News Network of Taiwan

Jiupeng Base in Pingtung is the main training and testing ground for the Taiwanese military's artillery, rockets, and missiles. Various domestically produced missiles such as the "Land-Based Hsiian-2," "Hsiung Feng III," "Sky Bow III," and U.S.-made Patriot missiles are frequently tested and launched here. In August 2023, the "Hsiung Feng II-E" cruise missile, which has long been highly confidential by the Taiwanese military, was filmed for the first time by domestic media reporters when it was launched at Jiupeng Base.

In 2020, the Taiwan authorities ordered 11 sets of "HIMARS" from the U.S., and last year they ordered another 18 sets totaling 29 sets. The first batch of 11 sets arrived on the island last September and was taken over by the Fifth Eight Artillery Command of the Army's Tenth Corps for training.

The arrival of the first batch of HIMARS at Kaohsiung Port in November last year Social Media

In yesterday's live-fire validation shoot, a total of 33 short-range training rockets were fired by the 11 HIMARS artillery vehicles, with each vehicle firing three rockets. However, these HIMARS experienced two malfunctions during the shooting tests. During the first salvo, only one artillery vehicle completed the launch, and there was an issue during the second salvo, requiring supplementary fire.

Colonel Ho Chih-chung, commander of the Fifth Eight Artillery Command of the Taiwanese military, told the media that the issues during the two salvos were due to signal anomalies, which were assisted in troubleshooting by personnel from the American manufacturer on-site. This was also considered part of the fault elimination during the conversion training. The report stated that according to their understanding, the Taiwanese military's HIMARS rocket artillery would likely "form a unit" as early as July this year, but then expressed significant doubt in the article title with the question, "Can it really form a unit in July?"

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Original Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7503838179816997387/

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