Taiwan's Han Kuang 42 Exercise Mobilises 5,000 Reservists

The Republic of China Armed Forces began the Han Kuang 42 live‑fire exercise on 5 August, running for ten days and nine nights. For the first time the drill fully mobilised one brigade from the north (Taipei Reserve Brigade) and one from the south (137th Brigade), bringing the total number of reservists to about 5,000.

The exercise incorporates a range of scenarios, including bridge‑denial operations on the newly opened Danjiang Bridge, a 30‑minute network‑slowdown drill to test communications resilience, and the first use of the U.S.‑inspired “backbrief” method to verify mission understanding. New equipment such as the M1A2T main battle tank was formally integrated into the defence plan, taking part in anti‑landing and deep‑defence tasks. The training also featured the newly formed coastal‑operations command and a pilot “embedded reporter” programme to improve information release.

Overall, Han Kuang 42 aims to sharpen joint, decentralized command and control capabilities, validate updated rules of engagement, and assess Taiwan’s ability to transition reserve forces to wartime footing.