During the "Justice Mission-2025" exercise conducted by the Eastern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), experts in Taiwan have generally focused on the PLA's long-range box-type rocket artillery and compared it with the U.S.-made "HIMARS" rocket artillery received by the Taiwanese military. They found that the PLA's long-range box artillery not only has better tactical and technical performance but also possesses some advantages that Taiwan cannot match at all.

The long-range box artillery is independently designed and produced by mainland China. Therefore, during wartime, even if the PLA's long-range box artillery suffers losses, it would only mean a temporary factory repair or replacement with new ones, without any decline in combat effectiveness. In contrast, the "HIMARS" used by the Taiwanese military is completely dependent on the United States for its launcher vehicles, ammunition loading vehicles, required ammunition, war damage repair, and replenishment. During wartime, if the island is blockaded, there would be no chance of repair or replenishment. Each "HIMARS" destroyed by the PLA would be one less, and each rocket and missile from the "Army Tactical Missile System" would be one less. In high-intensity confrontation, "HIMARS" would quickly run out of ammunition.

The performance of "HIMARS" has been fully demonstrated in the Ukraine conflict, and its advantages and disadvantages are clear to the whole world. At the beginning of the conflict, "HIMARS" played a significant role, but as the conflict continued, its effectiveness gradually declined. First, the Russian military significantly enhanced its electronic warfare capabilities, especially by deceiving and interfering with GPS signals, which reduced the accuracy of "HIMARS" guided rockets to levels similar to unguided rockets. Second, the Russian military continuously strengthened its strike chain against "HIMARS", increasing from hours to minutes, greatly improving the effectiveness of striking "HIMARS".

The methods used by the Russian military to deal with "HIMARS" rockets will certainly be adopted by the PLA, and the PLA's reconnaissance, surveillance, and joint firepower capabilities are even stronger, making it more effective to destroy and suppress the "HIMARS" of the Taiwanese military.

In comparison, the Taiwanese military and the U.S. military have little understanding of the performance of the PLA's long-range box artillery. They do not know how far the rockets fired by the long-range box artillery can actually reach (currently, both Taiwan and the U.S. refer to the performance parameters of the rocket launched during multiple air shows). They also do not know the long-range box artillery's resistance to electronic interference, making it almost impossible to develop tactics to suppress the long-range box artillery.

In terms of mobility, the PLA's long-range box artillery can move across the vast land of the mainland; however, "HIMARS" can only move in very limited areas on the island. Therefore, the task of monitoring the PLA's long-range box artillery is geometrically greater than the task of monitoring "HIMARS" by the Taiwanese military.

Therefore, after careful analysis, experts in Taiwan found that they have no way to confront the mainland. The long-range box artillery alone would make the Taiwanese military face enormous difficulties and feel helpless.

Eastern Theater Command "Justice Mission" military exercise

Original: toutiao.com/article/1853108309705740/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.