Taiwan's defence ministry has begun a five-day "Immediate Combat Readiness Exercise" designed to simulate realistic wartime conditions and test rapid peacetime-to-wartime transitions. The drills emphasize live implementation with actual troops, terrain and equipment, and aim to improve joint command, logistics and battlefield preparedness. The announcement coincided with Taiwan reporting a sortie of 21 Chinese military aircraft near the island, 19 of which flew southwest into the Western Pacific. Taiwan previously tested a U.S.-supplied HIMARS system this month and will hold its main Han Kuang war games in August.
Taiwan Launches Five-Day "Immediate Combat Readiness" Drills After Chinese Air Sortie
Taiwan's High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) fire rockets during a live-fire military exercise, which simulates an enemy invasion, in Taichung, Taiwan June 10, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. REUTERS/Angie Teo
Taipei — Taiwan's defence ministry has launched a five-day "Immediate Combat Readiness Exercise" aimed at shifting training toward realistic wartime scenarios and testing rapid transitions from peacetime to conflict.
Drill Overview: The exercise runs Monday through Friday and is described by the ministry as part of the armed forces' annual joint-operations training plan. Officials say the drills emphasize live, realistic conditions — "actual troops, on actual terrain, in real time, using actual equipment, and through actual implementation" — to better prepare units at all levels for battlefield conditions during readiness deployment.
Training Objectives: The ministry said the primary goals are to familiarize units with combat practices and the battlefield environment, strengthen peacetime-to-wartime transition procedures, improve priority deployments, and sharpen joint command-and-control, logistics sustainment and battlefield preparation.
Context: Chinese Military Activity: The announcement came the same day Taiwan reported a large sortie of Chinese military aircraft near the island. Taiwan's defence ministry identified 21 aircraft — including J-16 fighters, KJ-500 airborne early warning-and-control planes, and Y-20 aerial refuellers. Nineteen of those planes reportedly entered airspace to Taiwan's southwest and continued into the Western Pacific for long-range over-sea training.
Taiwan said it deployed its own forces to "respond appropriately," using its standard response wording and did not elaborate on specific countermeasures. Calls to China's defence ministry for comment were not answered outside office hours, the ministry noted.
Recent Activity And Upcoming Exercises: Earlier this month, Taiwan fired a U.S.-supplied HIMARS rocket system into the Taiwan Strait as part of training activities. Taiwan's main annual Han Kuang war games remain scheduled for August.
Defence officials framed the current drills as part of a broader modernisation push: moving away from set-piece displays toward more realistic, integrated combat training that better simulates sudden escalation scenarios.
Why It Matters: The exercises underscore Taipei's focus on readiness amid sustained Chinese military pressure in the region. By practicing rapid mobilization, joint operations and logistics under realistic conditions, Taiwan aims to strengthen deterrence and resilience in the face of potential escalation.
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