U.S. Completes Final M1A2T Abrams Tank Production for Taiwan Closing 108 Vehicle Program.

Taiwan’s Liberty Times reports that the final 28 M1A2T Abrams main battle tanks for the Taiwanese Army have completed production in the United States and will ship by sea before the end of March. The delivery completes a 108-tank acquisition aimed at modernizing Taiwan’s armored forces as cross-strait military pressure continues to rise.

The Taiwanese Army is set to close out its long-awaited M1A2T Abrams tank program, with Taiwan’s Liberty Times reporting on 1 February that the final batch of 28 vehicles has completed production in the United States. According to the report, attributed to defense correspondent Tu Ju-min in Taipei, the tanks are expected to be transported by sea to Taiwan before the end of March, completing a 108-vehicle procurement that has been central to Taipei’s effort to restore credible heavy armor capability at the brigade level.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link

Taiwan’s final 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks have completed U.S. production, closing a 108-vehicle program to modernize the Taiwanese Army. (Picture source: Taiwan Military News Agency)

Taiwan has already received 80 tanks across earlier deliveries, with vehicles allocated to the Army’s Equipment and Training Department as well as frontline formations, including the 584th Armored Brigade and the 269th Mechanized Infantry Brigade. With the remaining 28 vehicles now completed, Taiwan moves from initial fielding into full fleet integration, which is often the most difficult phase for any major armored procurement. It is not only a question of numbers, but of training pipelines, spare parts, ammunition stockpiles, recovery assets, and the routine competence that turns a modern tank from an impressive platform into a dependable combat tool.

The Liberty Times also notes that the second batch of 42 tanks delivered last year has recently conducted live-fire exercises and is expected to reach operational status by the end of June 2026. That timeline suggests Taiwan is compressing its readiness cycle, moving quickly from acceptance and crew conversion to collective gunnery and unit-level employment. The public emphasis on live-fire is also deliberate: in Taiwan’s strategic environment, demonstrating credible armored lethality has both internal and external messaging value, particularly as Beijing’s armed forces expand their capacity for coercive operations.

The M1A2T Abrams is a Taiwan-specific variant derived from the M1A2 SEP v2 configuration, tailored for export and adapted to the Taiwanese Army's requirements. It retains the 120 mm M256 L/44 smoothbore cannon, giving it the highest direct-fire anti-armor capability in Taiwan’s ground forces. The gun is compatible with armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS) and high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) ammunition, and Taiwan’s package includes the export-oriented KE-W A1 APFSDS-T round, credited with penetration on the order of 850 mm of homogeneous steel under test conditions. In practical terms, this type of kinetic round gives the ROC Army a credible ability to defeat modern armored threats at combat ranges, while HEAT provides flexibility against fortified positions and light armor.

Secondary armament follows the Abrams baseline but with modernized employment. The tank carries a coaxial 7.62 mm M240 machine gun, a loader-operated M240, and a 12.7 mm M2 Browning heavy machine gun mounted in a Low-Profile Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (LP-CROWS), allowing engagement without exposing crew to small arms fire and fragments. The M1A2T also incorporates an Ammunition DataLink designed to support programmable munitions such as the M1147 Advanced Multi-Purpose (AMP) round, which offers airburst, delay, and impact modes. That matters operationally because programmable effects help a tank shift quickly between missions, for example defeating infantry behind cover, neutralizing field fortifications, or engaging targets in defilade.

Fire control and target engagement remain central to the platform’s value. The M1A2T’s architecture supports advanced hunter-killer functionality, allowing the commander and gunner to acquire and engage targets independently. Using independent thermal sights, laser rangefinders, and ballistic computers, the system can generate up to 30 firing solutions per second, supporting accurate first-round hits while moving, at night, and in degraded visibility. For Taiwan, this is not just a technical luxury: it is a way to reduce exposure time under surveillance, especially in an environment saturated by drones and artillery cueing.

Protection is adapted for export constraints but remains robust. The M1A2T relies on composite armor supplemented by explosive reactive armor tiles, replacing depleted uranium armor used on certain US Army variants. It does not feature the Trophy active protection system, meaning survivability depends more heavily on passive protection, crew discipline, and tactical measures such as dispersion, concealment, and rapid repositioning. However, the design integrates electronic and structural enhancements intended to support sustained operations, including a turret-mounted Auxiliary Cooling and Power System (ACPS). This enables electronics to run without engine idling, which supports thermal imaging, radios, and network connectivity during extended stationary missions while reducing fuel burn and acoustic signature.

Networking is a quiet but essential part of modernization. Each tank integrates Taiwan’s own battle management system and the Inter-Vehicular Information System (IVIS), enabling real-time data exchange across units. In modern armored combat, this kind of digital architecture is often the difference between massing firepower effectively and simply having platforms present on the battlefield. It supports faster target handoff, improved situational awareness, and more coordinated maneuver when operating alongside mechanized infantry, engineers, and indirect fire assets.

The M1A2T weighs between 68 and 72 tonnes depending on configuration. It measures roughly 10 meters in length with the gun forward, 3.65 meters in width, and around 2.9 meters in height. Propulsion is provided by a Honeywell AGT1500C gas turbine producing 1,500 horsepower, enabling a maximum road speed of about 67 km/h and an operational range of roughly 426 km on internal fuel. These figures translate into a tactical reality: the Abrams can shift quickly between engagement areas, but it demands heavy sustainment, protected fuel supply, and strong maintenance capacity, especially under wartime attrition.

Taiwan’s fielding plan shows a broader effort to rebalance armored formations. The M1A2T becomes the core of the combined arms brigade combat power alongside upgraded M60A3 tanks, while older CM11 and CM-12 fleets are progressively retired or placed in reserve. The Cloud Leopard 105 mm wheeled armored vehicle program is expected to complement this structure once mass production proceeds, providing road mobility and flexible coverage across multiple sectors. This layered approach indicates Taiwan is trying to avoid a single-point modernization gamble, mixing heavy tracked lethality with wheeled responsiveness.

Training infrastructure and readiness timelines underline the seriousness of the effort. Crew training begins in early 2025 at the Hukou Armor Training Command with US-trained instructors supporting conversion. In July 2025, four M1A2T tanks participated in a live-fire exercise at the newly constructed Kengzikou Range in Hsinchu County during the Han Kuang 41 drills, conducting both static and on-the-move firing against stationary and moving targets modeled after PLA armor, reportedly firing 19 rounds with full hit accuracy. The Kengzikou range, completed in May 2025, is designed with a 609-meter ballistic ceiling and a 5.56-kilometer safety radius for 120 mm rounds. Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense allocates NT$648.93 million for related infrastructure, with official reporting in mid-2025 indicating progress ahead of schedule, enabling the release of previously withheld funds by the Legislative Yuan.

The Abrams gives Taiwan sharper options in defensive ground warfare, particularly for counter-penetration and urban denial. Analysts at Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense and Security Research assess that M1A2Ts are more likely to operate inland for counteroffensive missions rather than sitting on exposed coastal fronts. In a high-intensity scenario, they can seal breaches, counterattack amphibious lodgments, and deny key road networks through rapid repositioning and accurate long-range direct fire. Their thermal sights and stabilized gun support rapid hunter-killer engagement cycles, which are decisive when operating under drone observation. Yet heavy armor is not a shield against everything: without an active protection system, survivability depends on integrated air defense against loitering munitions, artillery suppression, smoke and obscuration, and fast recovery assets to prevent immobilized vehicles from becoming fixed targets.

Completing Taiwan’s M1A2T deliveries under US Foreign Military Sales underscores the depth of US-Taiwan defense cooperation and reinforces a broader regional trend toward hard deterrence in the Indo-Pacific. For Beijing, the arrival of a modern heavy tank fleet complicates invasion planning by raising the cost of ground operations after any initial landing, particularly if Taiwanese brigades retain the cohesion to mount counterattacks. For regional partners, the program signals Taipei is investing in survivable, high-end capabilities rather than symbolic modernization. In a security environment shaped by accelerating military competition, Taiwan’s armored upgrade contributes to deterrence posture and crisis stability across the first island chain, with direct implications for escalation management, allied planning, and the wider balance of power in East Asia.

Written By Erwan Halna du Fretay - Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Erwan Halna du Fretay is a graduate of a Master’s degree in International Relations and has experience in the study of conflicts and global arms transfers. His research interests lie in security and strategic studies, particularly the dynamics of the defense industry, the evolution of military technologies, and the strategic transformation of armed forces.