According to information from Taiwanese media, the United States has begun delivering the final batch of 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks destined for the Taiwanese Army, completing the last phase of the supply program agreed between Washington and Taipei. The vehicles are currently in maritime transit and are expected to arrive on the island before the end of March, according to an official from Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND).
According to the official—who spoke on condition of anonymity—the arrival of this third batch will help maintain continuity in training programs between the units that have already received the tanks and those that will begin operating them in the coming months. The schedule is intended to avoid interruptions between the training associated with the third shipment and the second batch of 42 vehicles, which arrived at the Port of Taipei in July of last year.
Taiwanese authorities indicated that the second batch has been deployed since December to the Kengzikou training area, located in Hsinchu County. There, crews completed live-fire exercises, dry-fire drills, and combat training with mounted machine guns as part of the certification process prior to their formal entry into active service.
According to the MND, the 42 tanks from the second batch will be officially inducted into operational units during a closed ceremony planned for the second quarter of this year. Once this process is completed, Taiwan’s armored forces will move forward with the gradual integration of the vehicles into their brigades and the expansion of their units’ combat capabilities.
Origin of the Program
The M1A2T Abrams acquisition program dates back to an agreement signed in 2019 between Taiwan and the United States for the purchase of 108 armored vehicles. The first batch, consisting of 38 units, arrived on the island in December 2024. After a testing period, the Taiwanese Army marked the entry into service of the first battalion equipped with the new M1A2T Abrams in a ceremony led by President Lai Ching-te, held at the Hukou military camp.
Subsequently, in December 2025, the 584th Armored Brigade conducted reconnaissance and patrol exercises as part of combat readiness preparations using the M1A2T tanks from the second batch—i.e., those delivered in July of the previous year.
With the delivery of the third batch of 28 tanks, the United States will complete the supply of all 108 M1A2T Abrams stipulated in the bilateral agreement. According to Taiwanese military officials, all vehicles are expected to be fully operational before the end of 2026, while the second battalion equipped with these main battle tanks could be officially activated in May, expanding the force structure established with the induction of the first battalion in 2025.
Cover image for illustrative purposes of Taiwanese soldiers posing in front of an M1A2T Abrams tank while taking part in live-fire exercises in Hsinchu, Taiwan.
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