No Ammo for Taiwan Abrams Tanks
Whoops! Someone Forgot the Bullets
China In Arms BOOKSTORE and GIFT SHOP!
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20 May 2025 (Tuesday)
No Ammo for Taiwan Abrams Tanks
No Ammo for Taiwan Abrams Tanksops! Someone Forgot the Bullets
For further reference on Taiwan’s Army equipment: Taiwan Army Weapons and Equipment.
By Wendell Minnick (Whiskey Mike) 顏文德
TAIPEI – In what is sadly becoming typical of Taiwan’s defense acquisitions, the Army has taken delivery of advanced weapon systems without ensuring basic operational readiness—this time, by forgetting to order enough ammunition.
The first batch of 38 M1A2T Abrams main battle tanks arrived in December. Taiwan procured 108 Abrams under a $2 billion deal signed in 2019, with full delivery expected by late 2026.
But there is a critical problem: NO AMMUNITION..
Now in complete panic, Taiwan’s Armaments Bureau, which controls domestic production, and Northrop Grumman have been in discussions for a joint venture to produce the 120mm in Taiwan, but after a year, no agreement has been announced.
The problem might be too late to supply Abrams with munitions for combat as China has claimed that Taiwan will be reunified by 2027.
The Numbers Don’t Add Up
Each Abrams tank can carry 40 rounds internally. For wartime logistics, a 3:1 stockpile ratio is considered the minimum.
Let’s do the math:
· Combat Load: 40 rounds x 108 tanks = 4,320 rounds
· Sustained War Stockpile: 4,320 x 3 = 12,960 rounds
So how many rounds has Taiwan actually ordered?
According to the U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) announcement:
· 572 × M1002 TPMP-T1 Target Practice Multipurpose Tracer
· 359 × M831A1 High Explosive Antitank (HEAT) (live training)
· 621 × Target Practice, Cone Stabilized, Discarding Sabot-Tracer (TPCSDS-T2)
· 828 × M830A1 HEAT (live training)
That is just 2,377 training rounds total, or ~22 rounds per tank.
A Bureaucratic Breakdown
Taiwan’s 202nd Arsenal, under the Materiel Production Center (MPC), currently manufactures 105mm rounds for its older M48/M60 Patton MBTs.
It was expected to receive some type of contract to produce 120mm ammunition for the Abrams and begin the required retooling.
That did not happen.
Instead, a bureaucratic dispute erupted within the Ministry of National Defense (MND) that remains a mystery.
Now, alarm bells are ringing at the Hsinchu-based Army Armor Training Command and no doubt will resonate later as Abrams begin delivery with the 542nd Armored Brigade in Linkou District in Northern Taiwan (6th Army Corps).
Without domestic production, Taiwan might have to order 120mm rounds from the U.S.—but sources indicate the earliest delivery window is 2028, two years after full delivery of the Abrams.
A Taiwan military source noted that domestic production would also be a nightmare:
1. 202nd Arsenal needs time to build the production line.
2. US FMS backlog will slow a release.
Northrop Grumman was in discussions with 120mm production in Poland, but details are sketchy.
Time Is Running Out
With Xi Jinping’s 2027 deadline to reunify Taiwan looming, this delay could prove catastrophic. Tooling for 120mm ammunition is complex, labor-intensive, and time-sensitive.
Taiwan may now face the grim possibility of fielding some of the world’s most advanced tanks—without the ammo to fire them.
