M1A2T tanks to join southern Lien Yung drills

US-made M1A2T Abrams tanks are to participate in a major military exercise for the second time, when the Lien Yung exercise (聯勇操演) begin next month, a military source said yesterday.

The army’s 584th Armored Brigade, which operates the US-built tanks, has already transported them to the Joint Operations Training Base in Pingtung County for the drills from late next month to December, the source said.

During the month-long joint military exercise in southern Taiwan, the tanks’ crew would test their combat coordination, said the source, who asked not to be named.

The M1A2T Abrams tanks were included in a major Taiwanese military exercise for the first time when the nation held its annual Han Kuang exercises in August.

The nationwide Han Kuang exercises, which include live-fire drills, are Taiwan’s major military exercise, while the Lien Yung drills are the second-largest.

Held in southern Taiwan, the Lien Yung exercises serve as a major test of coordination among the three branches of the nation’s armed forces — the army, the navy and the air force — in jointly repelling an invading enemy.

Conscripts serving their mandatory one-year military service are also to participate in this year’s Lien Yung drills, the source said.

The M1A2T Abrams tanks are currently operated only by volunteer soldiers, not conscripts, said Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), director of the Institute for National Defense and Security Research’s defense strategy and resources division.

However, it is important for conscripts to participate in large-scale live-fire exercises such as the Lien Yung exercise to receive more advanced training, Su added.

Under a deal approved by Washington in 2019, Taiwan has procured 108 M1A2T Abrams tanks from the US at a cost of about US$1.45 billion.

Of the 108 Abrams tanks, 38 were sent to the army’s 584th Armored Brigade in late October last year and 42 in April. The other 28 are still being tested and prepared for service.