On 14 August, Taiwan’s Military News Agency YouTube channel, run by Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense, shared a video update on new technologies including Taiwan’s new Cheetah IFV, drones and new T112 rifles. Another system showcased briefly was a commercial truck mounted with a Hellfire twin rail firing post.

The video shows what appears to be a commercial Isuzu truck being outfitted with a firing post and sensor system. The Hellfire Truck has been developed by the 209th Arsenal of Taiwan’s Armaments Bureau.

The development comes as Taiwan seeks conventional and asymmetrical methods of countering a potential Chinese invasion. Taiwan’s Hellfires are normally launched from Cobra and Apache attack helicopters but the new truck-mount may allow them to be used if Taiwan’s attack helicopters are suppressed by Chinese air defences. It also provides a new mobile method of utilising the missiles from the ground.

Alongside the firing post the truck also has what is likely a small radar and a sensor turret with electro-optical and infrared cameras and perhaps a laser designator. This is mounted on a telescoping mast which raises out of the roof of the truck’s cargo area.

In the video we are shown the mounting of the mast base and an A-frame to hold the Hellfire rail, before Taiwanese troops are seen loading and firing a AGM-114L LongBow Hellfire. The AGM-114L has a 20lbs or 9kg tandem shaped charge high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT). It uses a fire and forget millimeter-wave (MMW) radar seeker guidance system. The footage shows the missile being fired at a shipping container floating off-shore – this potentially simulates the engagement of a PLA-Navy landing craft.

The Taiwanese development is reminiscent of the commercial vans equipped with Hellfire-derived Brimstone missiles seen in Ukraine. We have previously covered these Brimstone-launch platforms in a number of article/videos. The Brimstone vans seen in Ukraine were developed by the UK to provide a mobile launch platform for using Brimstone as as a surface to surface missile. While Hellfire isn’t as sophisticated as Brimstone the laser guided and millimeter-wave radar-guided Hellfire variants can be used effectively against ground or naval targets. In a brief to-camera segment Colonel Su, with the 209th Arsenal, notes that “during launch, we may need to modify the firing logic to ensure accurate impact,” adding that “this is a key technical challenge we must overcome” suggesting the targeting process for the system is still being refined.

The concealability and mobility provided by a truck-based system may allow Taiwanese forces to rapidly move to threatened coastal areas and quickly engage enemy vessels or landed enemy vehicles or positions. The system also has the benefit of being comparatively cheap to produce, with the sensor suite and missiles being the most expensive elements of the system. Colonel Su notes that “the vehicle-mounted missile system is designed for asymmetric warfare” and as such is somewhat easy to conceal within an urban area.

It’s unclear if Taiwan was inspired by Ukraine’s Brimstone vans but given the threat Taiwan faces the ability to think outside the box and deploy asymmetric assets alongside conventional ones will be essential.

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