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Ukraine war
ChinaMilitary

Taiwan tests ‘tank killer’ Javelin missiles in drills to deter potential Beijing attack

  • The missiles have been used against Russia’s armoured vehicles during the invasion of Ukraine, whose resistance has been studied by Taipei
  • Taiwanese marines and army units have used them to destroy decoy tanks in drills in the past week

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Ukrainian troops have used Javelin missiles against Russia during the latter’s invasion. Photo: AFP
Lawrence Chung

The Taiwanese military has been using US-made Javelin missiles in training to test their effectiveness in helping to deter potential attacks from mainland China.

The 66th Marine Brigade, which has a unit to guard Taipei, the island’s capital, has practised firing the portable missiles, dubbed “tank killers”, which have been used recently by Ukraine to destroy a number of invading armoured vehicles from Russia.
According to the Military News Agency, affiliated to the Taiwanese defence ministry, marines from the brigade joined air force and army units in a series of drills in the past week at the Joint Operations Training Base Command in Pingtung, southern Taiwan.

During the training, the air force’s F-16 fighter jets used decoy flares to counter infrared homing (or heat-seeking) surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles. Also used in the drills were howitzers, mortars, tanks, amphibious assault vehicles and US-made OH-58D helicopters, the agency said.

02:20

Heightened tensions in Taiwan amid Russian invasion of Ukraine

Heightened tensions in Taiwan amid Russian invasion of Ukraine

The brigade successfully destroyed the decoy tanks in day and night drills, it said.

The American-made FGM-148 Javelin (AAWS-M), which has been in use since 1996, is a portable anti-tank missile system. Its warhead is able to defeat modern tanks by hitting them from above, where their armour is the most vulnerable.

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