Taiwan artillery battalion fires through gas, drone and misfire drills in a 10-day unscripted test

A mixed artillery battalion from the Taiwanese army's Hualien-Taitung Defense Command has completed a 10-day, nine-night base training evaluation that paired live fire from 105mm howitzers against a simulated enemy landing with drills against gas attacks, enemy drones and gun misfires, according to reports by Liberty Times and the military's Youth Daily News published on 11 November.

The live-fire phase covered barrage belts, concentration points and harassing fire, with the battalion organised around its core artillery specialities of fire direction, survey, observation, communications and gun crew work. Once orders were issued, crews moved into position, set direction and elevation with panoramic sights and elevating gear, inspected ammunition, selected fuses and loaded, then fired when the position commander gave the order.

Firing was only part of the test. After each fire mission the troops displaced to new positions under the scenario, a move meant to confuse enemy targeting. An advance party led by the unit commander scouted the area, occupied the site and marked the gun positions, after which the gun sections dug in, emplaced the howitzers and re-laid them within set time limits.

The battalion was tested under the new style of base training that Taiwan's armed forces began using this year. Liberty Times reported that the earlier model ran for five days and four nights, focused on set subjects and fixed scoring standards to check individual skills. The new format lasts 10 days and nine nights, runs around the clock and pits units against an opposing force without a script.

Under the new approach, commanders set training goals based on their unit's mission and correct shortcomings through immediate reviews, while the evaluation also checks command and control, logistics resupply and the handover of tasks between units, with the aim of bringing training closer to real combat.

A captain surnamed Hsu, who commands the battalion's second battery and was leading his whole battery through the new base training for the first time, said the round-the-clock contest with a mock enemy forced his unit to make decisions in highly uncertain conditions and helped build the ability of junior leaders to adapt on the spot.

Hsu said stretching the training to 10 days and nine nights tests a unit's ability to sustain operations, along with its logistics, command and control and handover of missions, so that companies can keep fighting through a long engagement.

Sergeant Kao Wei-hung, a deputy gun chief in the battery, said the long tactical drills required troops to stay on high alert for extended periods, which was demanding both physically and mentally. He said the high-intensity format was helping soldiers adapt to combat conditions and respond more calmly to sudden events.

Kao said the evaluation built in simulated enemy drone harassment and practised responses to misfires during firing, so that operating procedures and coordination could be checked under complex battlefield conditions. The reports said the mix of firing, rapid movement and drone and chemical threats was designed to turn routine training into usable combat capability.