The Han Guang Exercise held by the Republic of China Armed Forces will soon kick off with live military drills. Chief of the General Staff, General Mei Jiashu stated in the “Republic of China Armed Forces’ 115 (2026) Spirit Force Education Project” on July 30 that in the face of modern warfare and rapid technological advancements, the military must continuously promote unit transformation and implement realistic combat training.
The Han Guang Exercise 42 will take place from August 5 to August 14. According to the military news agency, General Mei Jiashu encouraged frontline officers and soldiers at the Hsinchu Air Force Base, praising their continuous execution of readiness, training, and various missions to defend the airspace security, regardless of day or night and weather conditions.
Mei emphasized that the dedication of officers and soldiers is the most solid foundation of the nation and urged everyone to uphold the highest standards in completing tasks during the upcoming Han Guang Exercise 42.
He pointed out that with new technologies and artificial intelligence, the pace of the battlefield has become faster, and the progress of operations has become more ambiguous. Facing disturbances in the gray areas of the People’s Republic of China and the transition from peacetime to continuous combat stages, the military must deploy forward, anticipate the future, strengthen inter-service integration of the army, navy, and air force to make intelligence surveillance, command, control, and force application more flexible, and build the capability to be ready for combat anytime, to respond quickly, and to sustain operations.
Regarding realistic training, Mei stated that the purpose of the exercise is to verify the feasibility of operational plans. Previous exercises such as immediate combat readiness drills and joint defense exercises aimed to identify problems and constraints, as well as to understand the capabilities and limitations of the forces. Therefore, the Han Guang Exercise should not only go through the procedures to complete the objectives, but should also simulate situations such as changes in the enemy’s situation, communication interruption, and resource constraints to create pressure similar to the real battlefield, verify the command and control system, and decision-making process.
Mei urged units at all levels to conduct practical reviews, be brave to identify and address issues, avoid training from being mere formalities, and continue to improve based on the results of the exercises. He emphasized that improvement and review are the focus of each exercise and a process of accumulating combat capabilities.
Regarding the operational preparation direction of “multi-domain deterrence and resilient defense,” Mei explained that the military will integrate land, sea, air, network, and electromagnetic spectrum operations, strengthen electronic warfare, information communication security, and command, control, communication, and intelligence. By utilizing unmanned drones, unmanned boats, mobile blockades, and precise mine-laying methods, integrated with deep defense and enduring operations, a multilayered defense system will be established.
“What truly deters the enemy is no longer symbolic weapons but sustainable operational capabilities and resilience,” Mei said. The military continues to introduce artificial intelligence and modern command and control systems, strengthen ammunition reserves, logistical supply, and diverse communication methods, integrate civilian information communications, critical infrastructure, and technological capabilities, to form a defense framework of military-civilian cooperation, unity in peacetime and wartime, and mutual support.
Lastly, Mei emphasized that national identity is the shared belief of military personnel and that spiritual strength is currently the most critical key capability. He expects officers and soldiers to believe in themselves, in their fellow Taiwanese, and in the strength of the nation as a whole, transforming every readiness preparation and exercise verification into the strength to safeguard their homeland, demonstrating Taiwan’s determination to protect its homeland.