The delivery of the first 38 M1A2T Abrams tanks, originally slated for around the middle of the year, might be delayed to the fourth quarter, as the US military reportedly plans to invite Taiwan to participate in joint exercises in the second half of the year, a source in the know in the military said yesterday.
The monthly production rate for the baseline M1A2 model stood at about four, so by that calculation, about 30 M1A2Ts should have been manufactured and delivered to the Taiwanese military for trial and training, the source said.
About 18 M1A2Ts are expected to be used at the exercise, and the delivery of the first batch of tanks would suffer further delays until the manufacturers produce more units, they said.
Photo: AFP
The Army Command Headquarters said that all Republic of China Army military exercises with foreign nations are pre-planned and declined to comment further on the issue.
The delivery process is on schedule and construction of a shooting range at Kengzikou (坑子口) in Hsinchu County is being adjusted accordingly, the army added.
The tank deal cost NT$40.5 billion (US$1.26 billion) and was to be delivered to Taiwan over three years. The first batch of 38 units is expected to arrive this year, 42 next year and the final 28 in 2026.
The source said that compared to in-service MBTs with 105mm tank guns, the M1A2T’s 120mm tank gun is a massive improvement.
The new tanks would primarily be deployed in northern Taiwan to strengthen defenses around the nation’s political and economic centers and shoreline defense, the source added.
As the tanks are still being manufactured, training for the tank crew and instructors, as well as the construction of barracks and training grounds, are being held concurrently, the source said.
The military is in talks with Northrop Grumman and it is increasingly likely that the military would be able to establish factories in Taiwan to produce the 120mm rounds used by the tanks, they added.
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