First US M109A6 Paladin 155mm howitzers will be delivered to Taiwan in 2023


According to information published by the "Taiwan News" website on September 3, 2021, United States will deliver the first M109A6 Paladin 155mm tracked self-propelled howitzers to Taiwan in 2023.
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U.S. soldiers, of Alpha Battery, 1st Battalion, 118th Field Artillery Regiment, Georgia National Guard, fire an M109A6 Paladin self-propelled howitzer during a fire mission at Camp Taji, Iraq on September 14, 2005. (Picture source U.S. DoD)


In August 2021, the U.S. State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO) of 155mm M109A6 Paladin Medium Self-Propelled Howitzer System and related equipment for an estimated cost of $750 million.

Currently, the United States has strengthened its relationship with Taiwan to respond to a potential conflict over Taiwan. Support from regional countries will be critical to the U.S.'s ability to defend Taiwan from an attack by the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

For 10 years, the United States has delivered a large number of military equipment to Taiwan including fighter aircraft F-16V Viper in 2019, AH-64E Apache attack helicopter in 2010, main battle tanks M1A2 in 2019, as well as different types of missiles and bombs for Naval and Air Forces of Taiwan.

The M109A6 Paladin is a modernized version of the American M109 tracked self-propelled howitzer. The configuration of the M109A6 was achieved through modifications to earlier-built M109A2 and A3 vehicle hulls and the introduction of an entirely new cab and cannon assembly.

The M109A6 is armed with one 155mm M284 cannon, which is fitted with an M182 gun mount. The gun can fire all the standard 155mm NATO ammunition with a maximum firing range of 24 km. The range can be extended by the use of assisted rounds up to 30 km. It can also fire XM982 Excalibur GPS inertial navigation-guided extended-range 155mm projectiles with a maximum range of 40 km. It carries a total of 39 155mm ammunition

The M109A6 Paladin howitzer is motorized by a Diesel engine DDEC 8V71T engine from Detroit Diesel Corporation 440 hp coupled to an Allison ATD-XTG-411-4 transmission with four forward and two reverse gears. The howitzer can run at a maximum road speed of 65 km/h with a maximum cruising range of 350 km.