Republic of China Army Deploys Newly Delivered American Abrams Tanks For City Defence Exercises

Military watch - defencec affairs analysis

The Republic of China Army’s 584th Armoured Brigade has deployed newly operationalised M1A2 Abrams main battle tanks for battalion-level urban operational readiness and infrastructure protection exercises in the Hsinchu area, alongside multiple other armoured vehicle types.

The Republic of China Ministry of National Defence reported that the exercise is aimed at validating the unit’s ability to respond to changing battlefield circumstances and protect key targets. The Abrams tanks operated alongside locally produced CM32, CM33, and CM34 armoured infantry fighting vehicles, CM22 mortar carriers, HMMWV armoured vehicles equipped with TOW anti-tank missiles, forming an armoured column which manoeuvred through roads and urban areas in Hsinchu.

The Republic of China Army reported that the exercises used simulated combat conditions to allow units to familiarise themselves with the surrounding operational environment and manoeuvre routes, and focused on improving joint operations and coordination across different units. Army units were able to maintain constant situational awareness and security, and upon arrival in the designated key target area proceeded to immediately move into tactical positions to conduct force preservation and defensive operations. The emphasis on “important target protection” reflects a broader emphasis by the Republic of China Armed Forces on defending critical infrastructure, command nodes, and transportation corridors in times of conflict. Hsinchu in particular is expected to be a high priority target during possible hostilities between the Republic of China Armed Forces and the People’s Republic of China based on the mainland, due to its central importance to the former’s economy as a key hub of semiconductor and other high tech industries. 

The Republic of China Army operationalised its first battalion of M1A2 Abrams tanks on October 31, after the vehicles began to be delivered in December 2024, with the tanks deployed under the 3rd Combined Arms Battalion which was able to retire its CM-11 Brave Tiger tanks. Training for crews at the Hukou Armor Training Command began in early 2025, while in July four of the tanks participated in a live-fire exercise at the newly constructed Kengzikou Range as part of the Han Kuang 41 military drills. Commenting on the Abrams’ performance, Captain Cheng Yu-chun observed that it provided “a major leap forward in firepower, mobility and protection” compared to the ageing M60A3 tank previously relied on to equip elite units.

The Abrams has proven highly vulnerable to attacks using even relatively basic anti-tank weapons when deployed by the Iraqi Army and the Ukrainian Army. By early June 2025 the Ukrainian Army was assessed to have lost 87 percent of the American sourced vehicles, with 27 of the 31 Abrams tanks destroyed or captured, despite prior Western expectations that the vehicles could represent a game changer in the conflict. As part of a much smaller tank fleet facing mainland China’s much larger array of more advanced anti-tank assets, the M1A2T fleet is expected to face much higher attrition rates if used in combat. After observing the results of the Abrams’ deployment in the Ukrainian theatre, the U.S. Army ceased to invest in further incremental modernisation of the M1A2 design, and has instead pursued the most radical new tank program in half a century to develop the deeply redesigned M1E3.