US could announce sale of M1A2X Abrams main battle tanks to Taiwan before July.

The U.S. is expected to announce the sale of 108 M1A2X Abrams main battle tanks to Taiwan within the next three months, The Taiwan News reports.

An M1A2 Abrams from the 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team's 2-116th Combined Arms Battalion conducts Gunnery Table XII March 20, 2018, at the Orchard Combat Training Center, Boise, Idaho (Picture source: U.S. Army/Capt. Robert Taylor)

Washington said it will make a decision on the tanks within 120 days of the application date. Besides the tanks, the Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense submitted its application for 66 F-16V fighter aircraft on Feb. 27, but China Times reports a decision on the fighter jets is likely to be made at a later date.

A Taiwanese defense official was quoted by the China Times newspaper last year that if the sale was given the green light, the M1A2s would be deployed into two armored battalions under the command of the 6th Army Corps, which is based in Taoyuan, northern Taiwan.