Thirty-two rockets went up from the west coast of Taiwan on Wednesday, June 9, 2026, pointed across the strait at China. The launcher was a US-supplied HIMARS, and the firing took place near a river estuary in Taichung, in central Taiwan. It was part of an exercise rehearsing defence against invasion.
Taiwan has fired HIMARS before. The difference is the shore. An earlier test in 2025 took place on the eastern coast, facing the Pacific. NBC News noted that Wednesday was the first time the precision weapon had been fired on the west coast.
The hardware
HIMARS is a rocket launcher mounted on a truck, built to fire and then move before anyone can answer. Ukraine has used it against Russian forces. Its range is about 300 km, or 186 to 190 miles, which puts the coast of China’s Fujian province within reach. Taiwan has bought 29 launchers from the United States, according to Tactics Institute, which published the account.
A Taiwanese military team trained by the US operated the system.
Reading the drill
Military analysts who cover the strait told Tactics Institute that Taiwan was “demonstrating its determination to defend against a potential Chinese invasion and signal capability to Washington.” The same analysts saw the move from east coast to west coast as a change in Taiwan’s defence thinking.
Beijing had earlier voiced concern about “external interference” in defence ties with the United States. The source did not report an official Chinese response to this firing. Whether Taiwan will repeat the exercise on the west coast is unclear.
