Abrams Delivered
Authors: Joe O’Connor, Eric Gomez, Shikhar Chaturvedi, Danielle Kremer, and Wyeth Lindberg
As of the end of April 2026, Taiwan’s legislature had failed to reach an agreement on a special defense budget to fund U.S. arms sales, continuing to place several high-value sales in jeopardy. (As of the time of publication, this has changed. Discussion about the recent approval of a budget by the Legislative Yuan will be discussed in the May update).
April had exceedingly good news for the backlog, however, as a third and final batch of M1A2T Abrams main battle tanks arrived in Taipei at the end of the month. With this delivery, the Abrams FMS case is completed, and the backlog’s value is reduced by US$2 billion. This brings the total value of the backlog to $29.72 billion.
Figure 1 illustrates the breakdown of the backlog between asymmetric weapons, traditional weapons, and munitions; arms sales that have been partially but not fully delivered are indicated with a yellow-orange color. Table 1 provides an itemized list of all arms sales in the backlog, including the most up-to-date information on their status. Arms sales that have been partially but not fully delivered are indicated with italics. Newly announced and fully delivered arms sales are indicated with bolding and underlining, respectively.
| Table 1 | |||
| Itemized list of backlogged capabilities by weapons category, April | |||
| Capability Sold | Dollar Value (In Millions) | Share of total backlog, April 2026 | Current Status as of April 2026 |
| Traditional | $14,927 | 43.50% | |
| F-16C/D Block 70 | $8,000 | 26.92% | April 2026: Lockheed CFO Evan Scott notes in earnings call that production had “issues during the flight test” but they are “back on track” and deliveries of aircraft to Taiwan and Morocco would begin soon. |
| Paladin Self-Propelled Howitzer | $4,030 | 13.56% | April 2026: MND issues procurement contract for “self-propelled artillery,” likely meaning Paladins, worth US$2.35 billion, with estimated completion in December 2034. |
| M1A2T Abrams Tanks | $2,000 | N/A | April 2026: MND confirms delivery of last 28 tanks at Port of Taipei. All 108 Abrams tanks have now been delivered to Taiwan. |
| F-16 IRST Systems | $500 | 1.68% | December 2025: US DoD awarded an undefinitized contract action to Lockheed Martin for targeting pods, including 55 IRST pods for Taiwan. Work is expected to complete by June 2031. |
| MS-110 Recce Pods | $367 | 1.24% | February 2026: Three MS-110 pods expected to arrive by the end of 2026. This may fulfill the FMS case, but getting accurate, consistent numbers on MS-110 delivery has been challenging. |
| MK 75 76mm Gun Mounts | $30 | 0.10% | No information since posting of Congressional notification. |
| Asymmetric | $14,763 | 48.67% | |
| HIMARS (Announced December 2025) | $4,050 | 13.63% | April 2026: MND issues procurement contract for “long-range precision strike systems,” likely meaning HIMARS, worth US$3.92 billion, with estimated completion in December 2032. Lockheed Martin also received a contract for full-rate production of launchers for U.S. and FMS customers, including Taiwan. |
| Harpoon Coastal Defense System | $2,370 | 7.97% | March 2026: U.S. DSCA Director Michael Miller confirmed in a House hearing that Taiwan has priority for delivery of HCDS over Saudi Arabia. |
| National Advanced Surface-to-Surface Air Missile System (NASAMS) | $1,160 | 3.90% | February 2026: Press reports citing MND sources repeated earlier reporting that Taiwan plans on purchasing 9 additional NASAMS systems and associated missiles. This appears to be one of the arms sales cases being held up by special procurement budget deadlock in the LY. |
| ALTIUS (Announced December 2025) | $1,100 | 3.70% | January 2026: MND reported that it would purchase 1,554 ALTIUS-700M loitering munitions and 478 ALTIUS-600M ISR drones. The FMS notification did not specify the number of drones being purchased. |
| Tactical Mission Network | $1,010 | 3.40% | January 2026: LY votes to move a special procurement budget proposed by the TPP to committee for consideration. The bill would not fund the Tactical Mission Network, but would fund almost all other FMS cases notified to Congress in December 2025. |
| PAC-3 MSE Interceptors | $882 | 2.97% | March 2026: MND officials stated that ongoing delivery of 102 MSE missiles should not be affected by conflict in the Middle East. |
| AN/TPS-77 and AN/TPS-78 Radar Systems | $828 | 2.79% | September 2025: Taiwanese press report citing 2026 budget request says that all radar systems will be delivered by the end of 2028. TPS-77s scheduled to begin arriving in 2026; TPS-78s to begin arriving in 2027. |
| MQ-9B Unmanned Aircraft | $600 | 2.02% | March 2026: Taiwanese officials attended a “handover” ceremony in the U.S. for two of the expected four drones, clarifying that they expect to remain for further testing. LY testimony from MND officials also clarified that delivery is expected by the third quarter of 2026 and should not be delayed by ongoing conflict in the Middle East. |
| HIMARS (Announced December 2022) | $520 | 1.75% | February 2026: Press reports citing MND sources indicate that 18 launchers, 20 ATACMS, and 864 GMLRS are expected to arrive before the fourth quarter of 2026. This is consistent with previously reported delivery timelines. |
| Javelin Missiles | $375 | 1.26% | April 2026: MND issues procurement contract for “anti-armor missiles,” likely meaning Javelin or TOW-2B missiles, worth US$162.75 million, with estimated completion in September 2030. |
| Air-Launched Harpoon Missiles | $355 | 1.19% | January 2023: Press report indicates that missiles will be delivered by 2030. |
| TOW Missiles | $353 | 1.19% | April 2026: MND issues procurement contract for “anti-armor missiles,” likely meaning Javelin or TOW-2B missiles, worth US$162.75 million, with estimated completion in September 2030. |
| Field Information Communications System | $280 | 0.94% | May 2025: Budget unfreezing report by MND indicates that testing of the system concluded in early 2025. The first batch of equipment is expected in the fourth quarter of 2025. |
| C4 Modernization | $265 | 0.89% | No information since posting of Congressional notification. |
| Volcano Anti-Tank Mining System | $180 | 0.61% | February 2026: Press reports citing MND sources indicate delivery of 14 Volcano systems will occur “soon.” This is consistent with previously reported delivery timelines. |
| Taiwan Advanced Tactical Data Link System Upgrade | $75 | 0.25% | August 2024: Taiwan’s E-Procurement System announced the award of a contract for the Link-16 system with completion date in 2026. |
| Switchblade 300 Loitering Missile System | $60 | 0.20% | September 2025: Taiwanese press reported details of delivery schedule: 66 drones already delivered to Military Police Command; 150 drones expected to be delivered to ROC Army by end of 2025, 469 drones by the end of 2026. |
| Munitions | $2,329 | 7.84% | |
| AGM-84H SLAM-ER Missile | $1,008 | 3.39% | December 2025: Taiwanese press report citing a publication by the LY’s budget office indicates a multi-year delay in finalizing details on cost and delivery schedule for AGM-84 missiles. Press report suggests that there is no finalized Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) for this case, which would lay out a payment and delivery schedule. |
| F-16 Munitions | $619 | 2.08% | April 2026: Raytheon awards contract for full-rate production of AMRAAM-ER missiles for FMS customers, including Taiwan. |
| Mk 48 Heavyweight Torpedoes (Announced June 2017) | $250 | 0.84% | December 2025: MND report to LY on arms sale delivery status reiterates that Mk-48 is one of three delayed arms sales cases. |
| AGM-154C Joint Standoff Weapon | $186 | 0.62% | December 2025: MND report to LY on arms sale delivery status reiterates that AGM-154C is one of three delayed arms sales cases. |
| Mk 48 Heavyweight Torpedoes (Announced May 2020) | $180 | 0.61% | December 2025: MND report to LY on arms sale delivery status reiterates that Mk-48 is one of three delayed arms sales cases. |
| AIM-9X Block II Missiles | $86 | 0.29% | March 2024: SIPRI annual update indicates delivery is expected to occur by 2030. |
Last Batch of Abrams Delivered
On April 27, Liberty Times reported that the third and final batch of M1A2T Abrams tanks purchased from the United States have arrived at Taipei Port. Representing 6.3% of last month’s US$31.72 billion backlog topline. The Abrams FMS case was originally notified to Congress in July 2019. The first batch of 38 tanks arrived in December 2024, with a second batch of 42 arriving July 2025. Now that all tanks are present, they will participate in transition training, quality evaluations, and combat readiness drills, including shooting and maneuver drills. If training progresses well, the tanks may be ready for service by the end of this year.
Special Budget Updates in April
April’s special budget developments began with further delay, owing to Kuomintang (KMT) chair Cheng Li-wun’s visit to China early in the month. Because of the visit, KMT legislators on April 2 requested Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) convener, Chen Kuan-ting, to delay negotiations until mid-April. Chen refused, resulting in a scheduled hearing on April 9 where KMT members did not appear, leading to widespread condemnation by DPP officials, accusing them of obstruction. An additional hearing on April 15, chaired by LY Speaker Han Kuo-yu, also resulted in no consensus from all three parties.
Around the middle of the month, stakeholders began to weigh in on the ongoing negotiations, including President Lai Ching-te, who urged the need for “constant preparedness” at a military inspection in Kaohsiung. Four U.S. Senators, including Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), sent a letter to LY officials urging them to “approve a supplementary defense budget” that addresses ongoing U.S. sales, as well as “speedier domestic production.”
In an April 20 closed-door hearing of the LY’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo submitted a new, partially redacted version of the DPP’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$40 billion) proposal. In his testimony, Koo also maintained the need for a larger budget to plan around “operational needs.”
Rifts within the KMT more overtly emerged in April, including a caucus meeting on April 29 which indicated large divisions, between members who supported a budget of NT$800 billion (US$25 billion) over the original KMT proposal of NT$380 billion (US$12 billion). That same caucus meeting resulted in the party’s vice chairman, Chi Lin-lien threatening to expel LY Speaker Han Kuo-yu from the party for his support of NT$800 billion, an accusation that was quickly dispelled by KMT chair Cheng. However, discussions between the KMT and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), their coalition partner, indicated that both would agree on a unified proposal of NT$800 billion.
MND Issues Seven Major Contracts for Backlogged Items
On April 21-22, the Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense (MND) issued awards for seven major procurement contracts to the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), which indicates they will be fulfilled by a U.S. defense contractor. A summary of the contracts is listed below:
- “Long-range precision strike systems,” for the Army Command, worth US$3.92 billion (NT$122.95 billion), with an estimated completion date in December 2032. This is meant to be High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) launchers and munitions notified to Congress in December 2025.
- “Self-propelled artillery,” for the Army Command, worth US$2.35 billion (NT$73.71 billion), with an estimated completion date of December 2034. This is meant to be M109A7 Paladin self-propelled howitzers and munitions.
- “Anti-armor missiles,” for the Naval Command, worth US$162.75 million (NT$5.10 billion), with an estimated completion date of September 2030. This might be Javelin or TOW-2B anti-armor missiles, meant for the ROC Marine Corps.
- “Other support services,” for the Air Force Command, worth US$18.26 million (NT$572.60 million).
- “Co-production of large-caliber ammunition,” for the Armaments Bureau, worth US$29 million (NT$909.6 billion). It is assumed this means 155-mm artillery shells, along with other munitions.
- “Integrated air defense services,” for the General Staff, worth US$730,000 (NT$22.90 million). This is likely for Taiwan’s proposed “T-Dome” air and missile defense system concept.
These seven contracts together amount to US$6.65 billion (NT$205.6 billion) in military procurement and defense-related services. Three of these contracts are explicitly for equipment notified in December (HIMARS, Paladin, and TOW / Javelin) as part of a larger US$11 billion package.
F-16 Block 70 and Contract Updates of Note
Lockheed Martin’s April earnings call provided additional detail on delays affecting Taiwan’s F-16C/D Block 70 case. On April 23, Lockheed Martin CFO Evan Scott told shareholders that the Taiwan and Morocco F-16 production run had encountered “issues during the flight test,” delaying deliveries. Scott said the program is now “back on track” after a successful flight test and that Lockheed planned to begin deliveries of the first aircraft as soon as that week. As previously noted in TSM’s Weekly Arms Update, it remains unclear whether Taiwan or Morocco will receive the first aircraft. This also follows TSM’s March Backlog update, which noted that Taiwanese officials attended an Acceptance Check Flight in Greenville, South Carolina, and that Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo said the first F-16s could arrive in Taiwan as early as September 2026. The F-16 case remains the largest single item in the backlog, valued at US$8 billion (NT$253.2 billion).
Two U.S. contract award announcements also involved Taiwan as an FMS customer among other countries. On April 15, Raytheon received a $234.8 million (NT$7.4 billion) undefinitized contract action to transition Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles-Extended Range (AMRAAM-ER) into full-rate production, with Taiwan listed among the FMS customers. Then, on April 29, Lockheed Martin received a $1.13 billion (NT$3.58 billion) undefinitized contract action for full-rate production of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) launchers and supporting requirements for the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, and FMS customers, including Taiwan. These contract award announcements do not change the delivery status of in the arms backlog, but, in the case of HIMARS, it shows forward progress by the United States despite the political deadlock in the Legislative Yuan over the special procurement budget.
Conclusion
The delivery of the final Abrams tanks has lowered the total backlog, and the MND’s April contract awards indicate that several major cases are moving forward. However, continued progress depends on Taiwan’s ability to match deliveries and contracts with political consensus, funding, training, and integration. The special budget debate remains critical: without a stable legislative path to finance current and future purchases, even significant deliveries will only partially address the gap between approved arms sales and operational needs. Developments in May’s budget will show whether April’s progress marks the beginning of broader acceleration or remains a limited improvement within a significant backlog.