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By Sam Garcia / Staff writer, with CNA
The final batch of 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks purchased from the US arrived at Taipei Port last night and were transported to the Armor Training Command in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), completing the military’s multi-year procurement of 108 of the tanks.
Starting at 12:10am today, reporters observed more than a dozen civilian flatbed trailers departing from Taipei Port, each carrying an M1A2T tank covered with black waterproof tarps.
Escorted by military vehicles, the convoy traveled via the West Coast Expressway to the Armor Training Command, with police implementing traffic control.
Photo: CNA
The army operates about 1,000 tanks, including CM-11 Brave Tiger and M60A3 models, but many have been in service for more than 20 years.
In addition to purchasing new engines for M60A3 tanks, the army allocated NT$40.52 billion (US$1.29 billion) under a multi-year budget from 2019 to next year to procure 108 M1A2T tanks from the US.
These tanks, dubbed the “most powerful on Earth,” are to be deployed with the Sixth Army Command to defend northern Taiwan.
The first batch of 38 M1A2T tanks arrived in Taiwan in December 2024 and conducted live-fire exercises with their 120mm main guns at the Kengzikou Range (坑子口訓練場) in Hsinchu County on July 10 last year.
Four tanks fired a total of 19 rounds, all of which hit targets modeled after Chinese tanks.
The second batch of 42 tanks arrived on July 28 last year, and both batches have been formally commissioned into service.
The final batch of 28 M1A2T tanks were completed in the US in late February and early last month.
After Taiwan and the US complete handover and follow-up training, including transition training, combat readiness exercises and evaluations, the M1A2T fleet would be fully operational.
Taiwan has also procured 14 M88A2 recovery vehicles, 16 M1070A1 heavy equipment transporters and 16 M1000 semi-trailers.
