![A reservist participates in an urban combat training exercise at the Taipei Tennis Center last June 11, as the landmark Taipei 101 building is seen in the background. [I-Hwa Cheng/AFP]](/gc9/images/2026/05/08/56021-afp__20250611__49vl9gc__v1__highres__taiwandefencemilitarytraining-370_237.webp)
By Jia Feimao |
Taiwan's Han Kuang 42 computer war game concluded in late April after 14 days and 13 nights of simulations, marking the first time the military exercise took place alongside a civilian urban resilience drill. The precedent signals that urban warfare will become a key focus of future live-force training.
Han Kuang will continue this summer with live-fire training.
In another precedent, for the first time this year, intelligence units were incorporated into the exercise structure, which also simulated international military operations.
The exercise simulated a sequence of Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) aggression beginning with "gray zone" harassment, escalating from military exercises into combat operations and culminating in a full-scale invasion of Taiwan. Taiwan's response unfolded in four phases, with the final stage centered on defense in depth and protracted warfare.
![Soldiers fire an unmanned aerial vehicle during the spring military drills at the Tsoying Naval Base in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, January 29. [I-Hwa Cheng/AFP]](/gc9/images/2026/05/08/56022-afp__20260129__94dn232__v3__highres__topshottaiwandefencemilitarytraining-370_237.webp)
"Gray zone" refers to operations that stop short of war but tax an opponent's forces.
That final phase envisioned PLA forces seizing airports, ports and other transportation hubs before advancing inland. Taiwan's military responded with joint interdiction strikes aimed at disrupting enemy operations and combat power, while activating whole-of-society support measures.
Departure from past exercises
Military analyst and former Ministry of National Defense inspector Lu De-yun said the shift in emphasis marked a notable departure from previous Han Kuang exercises, which focused on air superiority, sea control and anti-landing operations.
"Beyond the anti-landing phase, the exercise has strengthened Taiwan's defense in depth and protracted warfare in other words, urban combat," Lu said on his personal video channel.
In an interview with Focus, Lu said decentralized and distributed command-and-control systems remained a central feature of the exercise and were essential to maintaining operational resilience under attack.
Defense Minister Wellington Koo said after the simulation concluded that defense ministry departments, the Joint Operations Command Center and field commands all operated from dispersed and alternate locations during the exercise, testing whether the military's redundant command structure could continue functioning under enemy strikes.
Emphasis on resilience
President Lai Ching-te's administration has made "resilience" a core national security concept. The government established a Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience Committee under the Presidential Office and, since 2025, has conducted annual Urban Resilience Exercises. This year's civilian drills are taking place alongside the Han Kuang exercise cycle from April through August.
Washington has increasingly focused on Taiwan's preparedness for urban warfare and views the island's willingness to strengthen self-defense capabilities as a key indicator of deterrence credibility, say analysts.
American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Raymond Greene conducted an on-site observation of the first civilian emergency response drill coordinated with the Han Kuang exercise. The exercise helped strengthen Taiwan's emergency response capabilities and command system operations during crisis conditions, the AIT said.
According to Taiwanese media reports, Taiwan's military plans to conduct several additional exercises between April and November this year. Among them is the first Joint Defense Exercise, scheduled for July, which aims to integrate all three military branches into a unified defensive operation rather than having each service fight sequentially.
Plans for multi-force counterattack
The previous model assigned the air force to secure air superiority, the navy to establish sea control and the army to handle anti-landing operations, said Lu. Under the new joint defense concept, however, all three services would strike enemy forces simultaneously once an attack on Taiwan begins.
"The army no longer waits passively to engage after air and sea superiority is lost," Lu said.
A key enabler of that shift is the Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, procured from the United States, with partial deliveries completed last year. The missile has a maximum range of 300km, placing PLA bases, airfields and ammunition depots along China's southeastern coast within range.
Previously, Taiwan's Thunder-2000 multiple-launch rocket system could target invasion forces only near Taiwan's shoreline because of range limitations. With ATACMS entering service, however, Taiwan's military can now strike enemy forces while they are massing, boarding ships or crossing the Taiwan Strait, Lu said.
"If your weapons can reach the target, you strike. That is the logic of modern warfare," he told Focus.
Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022, Taiwan has closely monitored major international conflicts and incorporated lessons learned into the Han Kuang exercise. This year's scenarios also drew from recent U.S. military operations, including the operation targeting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and U.S. strikes against Iran.
Dong Ji-xing, director of the Ministry of National Defense's Joint Operations Planning Division, said both operations offered lessons for Taiwan's defense planning, including early warning, counter-electromagnetic interference, counter-drone operations and measures for hardening the power grid at key military facilities. Those elements were all incorporated into this year's exercise scenarios.