TAOYUAN, TAIWAN — Nestled inside a construction yard about a mile outside Taiwan’s main airport, a platoon of M1A2T Abrams tanks lies in wait, covered by tarps and debris.
One of the main battle tanks, sporting a metal anti-drone cage, roars forward while crews prepare to refuel its powerful Honeywell AGT1500 gas-turbine engine in the broiling August heat.
Civilian cars and vans whiz by as the Abrams brakes in the courtyard, allowing troops to connect the American-made tank to an M978 Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck.
This scene unfolded as part of the major Han Kuang military exercise simulating a Chinese invasion. On Monday, only months after Taiwan received the last of 108 third-generation tanks from the US in April, the 584th Armored Brigade put its Abrams tank crews to the test in an urban setting.
Space was tight in the Taoyuan courtyard. Next door stood a temple known locally for its giant statue of Guan Yu, the Chinese military general later deified as a god of war, rendered like a Lego figurine. A quaint village threaded with alleys and tourist-friendly murals sat about a football field away, while the nearest metro station was just a 10-minute walk.
Sitting in a nearby parking lot, an escort of several Taiwanese Clouded Leopard infantry fighting vehicles and Humvees armed with anti-tank missile launchers monitored the approach on a two-lane street.
The Abrams tank took about 15 minutes to refuel before lurching onto the narrow road and looping around to join the rest of the platoon in their concealed position.
These tanks, assigned to Taiwan’s northern theater command, are responsible for defending the island’s capital, its main airport, and international commercial port.
An ambush weapon in urban Taiwan
With over two-thirds of Taiwan covered by mountains, mudflats, and forested hills — and much of the rest packed with urban infrastructure — the American-made armor would likely be most effective in cities and around vital chokepoints should Beijing launch a ground invasion.
Erich Shih, a Taiwanese military analyst who runs the website Military and Aviation News, said that Taipei should primarily use the Abrams to ambush Chinese forces on roads leading into major cities.
Going “head-to-head with PLA tanks is not a good idea,” Shih, who has observed the Han Kuang exercises for over a decade, told Business Insider.
China fields a fleet of about 6,000 tanks, including roughly 2,200 Type 96 second-generation tanks and 500 Type 15 light tanks. It also has over 1,000 Type 5 amphibious assault vehicles.
All three are much lighter than the Abrams and less heavily armored against threats like the American-made tank’s main gun, but battles often aren’t purely contests between individual capabilities. Taiwan’s armored forces could need to contend with Chinese airpower as well.
If a Chinese land invasion reaches the point of tank-on-tank fighting in Taoyuan or Taipei, the PLA has likely already suppressed or destroyed much of Taiwan’s air force, Shih said.
Air superiority in that scenario would create the conditions for Beijing’s fighters, combat helicopters, or uncrewed aerial vehicles to provide cover for advancing tanks and infantry.
Rather than engage directly, a better potential strategy, Shih said, is to “plan a lot of intercept points or intercept areas and to change positions as the combat situation changes.
In addition to the other armored assets, China also has over 1,200 third-generation Type 99 and Type 99A tanks. These tanks are much too heavy for a beach landing, though they could be flown into Taiwan.
Taiwan’s decision to purchase M1A2Ts from the US in 2019, as part of a $2.2 billion package that included Stinger missiles, was initially controversial, with concerns that the 73-ton tank would fare poorly on the island’s terrain and lighter bridges in rural areas. Critics argued the funds would have been better spent on other asymmetric warfare tools, such as drones.
Shih said that Taiwan’s new Abrams tanks address a problem its military has confronted before: confidence in the equipment troops may have to take into battle.
The island’s other tanks include Cold War-era M60A3s and the decades-old CM11 Brave Tiger.
During the 1996 Taiwan Strait crisis, Shih recalled, Taiwan’s president asked fighter pilots flying aging F-104 Starfighters and F-5E Tiger IIs whether they felt prepared to face China’s air force.
“They answered that they were confident in their competence, but not the competence of their equipment,” Shih said.
For Taiwan’s tank crews, the Abrams offers a modern platform to confront China’s forces should they ever be called to fight, he said.
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