Taiwan's Han Kuang Drills Highlight Urban Ambush Tactics and Asymmetric Defense Blueprint

In this year’s Han Kuang war games, Taiwan moved beyond traditional beach-landing simulations to staged combat within Taipei’s urban grid, where troops fired blanks from rooftops and set up kill-boxes at intersections. The exercise highlighted the island’s "porcupine strategy," relying on ambushes by a limited number of Abrams tanks and other assets to deter a numerically superior PLA force. Junior commanders were tasked with back-briefs, mirroring U.S. doctrine, while logistics units practiced moving additional forces to the north and establishing alternative ammunition production.

Naval and air components rehearsed rapid runway repairs and a "drone hellscape" to disrupt amphibious crossings. Counter-sabotage drills at a Taoyuan refinery and simulated communications blackouts illustrated preparation for chemical and cyber threats. Overall, the drills signaled Taiwan’s push for unscripted, decentralized operations designed to make any mainland assault difficult and costly.