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Taiwan Han Kuang 42 unscripted war games

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2026-08-18 21:54 UTC → 2026-08-29 09:29 UTC · added ~~removed~~

The Han Kuang 42 live-fire drills, held from 5 August to 14 August 2026, utilized an unscripted format to test command coordination and responsiveness against potential Chinese incursions. Described as the largest ever held, the exercise involved more than 20,000 soldiers, including approximately 5,000 reservists mobilized through the ‘Tongxin 36’ program, to validate Taiwan’s ability to transition to a wartime footing. President Lai Ching-te maintained high-level ~~involvement throughout the drills, which included~~ involvement, overseeing coastal-strike operations ~~from a fast-attack missile boat in Kaohsiung~~ and observing drone swarms. ~~Tactical maneuvers featured~~ The drills included simulating the ~~deployment~~ defense of ~~M1A2T Abrams tanks~~ the Penghu Islands and ~~CM-32 Yunpao armored vehicles at Taoyuan International Airport~~ testing ‘whole-of-society defense’ by deliberately throttling mobile internet speeds in Taipei and other localities to 256 Kbps to simulate ~~denying airborne seizures, alongside night-time engineering exercises on~~ electronic warfare or cyber sabotage. President Lai apologized for the ~~Danjiang Bridge to block potential crossings. To modernize combat capabilities,~~ inconvenience, noting it was a necessary step for national security. Technical mishaps occurred during the drills: in Miaoli County, over 20 un-fuzed 8-inch howitzer shells rolled into a ditch from a military ~~adopted~~ truck, and a suicide drone experienced a mechanical failure during a Navy inspection. Despite these incidents, the military successfully tested U.S.-inspired doctrines such as Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations ~~(EABO), Rapid Decision and Synchronization Procedures (ROSP),~~ (EABO) and decentralized ~~command via ‘backbrief’ protocols. The exercises also tested ‘whole-of-society defense’ by intentionally throttling mobile internet speeds to simulate electronic warfare.~~ command. Following the main exercises, the Taiwan Army conducted specialized training in Tainan using First Person View (FPV) attack ~~drones. These units, including artillery and marine corps personnel, utilized~~ drones ~~equipped with high-explosive anti-armor rounds~~ to strike decommissioned ~~tanks and~~ armored ~~vehicles, simulating low-cost, high-impact~~ vehicles. In the aftermath, Taiwan has continued intensifying preparations, including deploying Hsiung Feng III missiles to the Penghu Islands and conducting artillery drills in Hsinchu to improve the mobility and survivability of heavy firepower against drone ~~warfare.~~ reconnaissance. China has criticized the ~~drills, labeling them~~ exercises as a ‘pure farce’ ~~and a ‘waste’ of resources~~ driven by separatism.

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