Particle.news
Download on the App Store
17 ARTICLES
·
last wk.

Taiwan Launches Largest-Ever 10-Day Han Kuang Drills

The exercise mobilizes a record 22,000 reservists alongside newly delivered US weapons, aiming to sharpen Taiwan’s defense posture against grey zone threats.

Reservists receive training ahead of the annual Han Kuang military exercises in Taoyuan, Taiwan July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Ann Wang
Image
Image
Image

Overview

  • The 10-day Han Kuang drills began on July 9 with a record mobilisation of 22,000 reservists, marking Taiwan’s most extensive defence exercise to date.
  • Exercises incorporate new US-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, M1A2 Abrams tanks and Taiwan’s Sky Sword missiles in simulated coastal defence and precision-strike scenarios.
  • Early stages simulate crippling cyber and communications attacks to test decentralized command resilience under grey zone tactics and full-scale invasion threats.
  • By 6am on launch day, Taiwan’s defence ministry reported tracking 31 PLA aircraft sorties and seven vessels operating near its airspace and waters.
  • China dismissed the drills as a bluff and imposed export controls on eight Taiwanese firms, while Defence Minister Wellington Koo said the exercises signal Taiwan’s resolve to protect its democracy.