Taiwan's army will put M1A2T tanks and HIMARS on public show at Chenggongling

Taiwan's army will open its Chenggongling base in Taichung's Wuri District to the public on Saturday, 24 October 2026, putting its newest US-built M1A2T Abrams tanks and HIMARS rocket launchers in front of civilian crowds, Major General Wang Chun-chin, chief of staff of the army's 10th Army Corps, told the defence ministry's regular briefing on Thursday, 15 October.

Entry to the base will be free from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. local time for Taiwanese nationals, Wang said. The event is part of the ministry's annual national defence education tours, and its theme this year is to bring people closer to the armed forces and let them see the strength that protects them. Based on earlier years, he said the base could draw more than 100,000 visitors.

The static display will cover 24 army, navy and air force ground systems. Besides the M1A2T and the M142 HIMARS, the army will show its ground-launched Sky Sword II air-defence missile vehicle, M60A3 tanks, CM33 infantry fighting vehicles, CM34 wheeled combat vehicles and M109A2 self-propelled howitzers. The navy will bring a mobile anti-ship missile launcher, and the air force will show Patriot PAC-3 and Tien Kung III air-defence missile vehicles.

The flying and field programme includes an AH-1W Cobra helicopter flypast, fast-roping from a UH-60M Black Hawk, an air assault landing from a CH-47SD Chinook, combatives by special forces and a precision jump by the army's Shen Long parachute team. Liberty Times and Newtalk reported that the army's newly formed drone unit will also fly a live demonstration in the afternoon session, alongside a separate drone display area.

Visitors will be able to ride in an eight-wheeled armoured vehicle and pull the primer lanyard on a 155mm towed howitzer, CNA reported. The site will also host a recruitment stand, a booth on all-out security and counter-espionage awareness, and air-gun shooting.

Private cars will not be allowed onto the base. Free shuttles will run every five to ten minutes between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. from five pick-up points, including Chenggong and Xinwuri railway stations and the Shuinan transit centre, after identity checks. Wang said the 3 p.m. close was set so that crowds can be cleared safely. Visitors must carry photo identification, foreign spouses and carers without a Taiwanese identity card must be accompanied, and drones are banned to protect helicopter operations.

With local elections due at the end of the year, Wang said the military would keep to political neutrality: campaign clothing and leaflets are banned, and officials said visitors wearing candidate ribbons would be asked to keep them out of sight.

The open day comes as the ministry tracks Chinese military activity close to home. At the same briefing, Colonel Pan Chun-kuang of the ministry's intelligence staff said the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning and its group were operating in the Western Pacific and were being monitored throughout, and that Beijing was widening cognitive warfare around its military activity, which he called destabilising.

For the army, the event is a rare chance to show taxpayers the hardware bought under recent US arms packages, while turning a recruitment drive and a civil-defence message into a public day out at one of the country's best-known training bases.