Taiwan's military began deploying one of its newest and most precise strike weapons on Saturday as part of intensifying drills meant to showcase the island's determination to resist any Chinese invasion.

Taiwan took delivery last year of the first 11 of 29 HIMARS units, testing them for the first time in May. With a range of about 300 km, the weapons could strike coastal targets in China's southern province of Fujian on the other side of the Taiwan Strait.

Taiwan has begun deploying its newest and most precise strike weapons, high calibre rockets from the United States, as part of its annual live-fire drills to increase the island’s ability to counter potential attacks from China.

Day four of Taiwan's annual Han Kuang military exercises saw a drill to repulse an invasion of the capital region to the deployment of some of Taiwan's newest U.S.-made HIMARS rocket systems in the central part of the country.

Taiwan's newly acquired HIMARS and Abrams tanks would raise the costs of a Chinese amphibious landing, a defense analyst says.

Taiwan launched its largest ever military drills on Wednesday, starting with simulated attacks on its command systems and infrastructure ahead of a Chinese invasion, senior defence officials said.

Taiwan has bought 29 of Lockheed Martin’s precision weapon High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, with the first batch of 11 received last year and the rest set to arrive by next year.

This image from the state-run Central News Agency shows Taiwan's military firing a U.S.-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, for the first time on May 12, 2025.

A report in Taiwan News said that in its 2022 National Defense Budget, Taiwan's army had allocated NT$15.4 billion for the purchase of 11 HIMARS platforms between 2020 and 2027.

The annual 10-day Han Kuang exercise will test Taiwan’s ability to respond to a Chinese attack on its command structure.