Taiwan’s armed forces have been spotted moving the highly secretive Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) land-attack cruise missile as China conducts major live-fire drills around the island. Rarely seen in public despite being operational for years, the road-mobile missile system is believed capable of striking targets 300 to 1,500 kilometers away, deep into mainland China.
The appearance of the missile’s transporter-erector-launcher, or TEL, has drawn intense attention because the HF-2E sits at the core of Taiwan’s long-range deterrence strategy. Footage circulating online shows the TEL traveling south along Taiwan’s east coast, reportedly from Hualien toward Taitung, just as the People’s Liberation Army ramps up high-profile exercises encircling the island. The movement was first highlighted by The War Zone (TWZ), which noted that the launcher’s configuration closely matches the few known images of the HF-2E.
Initial reports suggested the vehicle belonged to the Haifeng Brigade, an anti-ship missile unit. However, defense journalist Roy Choo, writing for TWZ, pointed out that the containerized launcher and flatbed trailer are consistent with the land-attack cruise missile rather than Taiwan’s better-known anti-ship systems. That distinction matters, because the HF-2E is designed not for coastal defense, but for holding strategic targets on the mainland at risk.
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Although development of the HF-2E is believed to date back to the early 2000s, it remained almost entirely in the shadows until the summer of 2023, when a Taiwanese newspaper published the first clear images and video of the missile. By then, the weapon was already thought to have been in service for more than a decade, with full-rate production reportedly beginning in 2011, according to TWZ. Despite its name, the HF-2E is unrelated to the Hsiung Feng II anti-ship cruise missile.
What little is publicly known suggests the HF-2E is broadly comparable in role to the US Tomahawk. It is a ground-launched land-attack cruise missile that uses a booster rocket for launch before transitioning to a jet-powered cruise phase. Pop-out wings deploy after launch, allowing the missile to fly long distances at low altitude. Analysts cited by TWZ describe it as a key element of Taiwan’s counter-strike capabilities.
Range is where the missile becomes strategically significant. Estimates for the baseline HF-2E vary from 300 to 600 kilometers, while an extended-range variant, often referred to as Hsiung Sheng, is believed capable of reaching 1,000 to 1,500 kilometers. That puts a wide array of military infrastructure on the mainland within theoretical reach, though the missile is not thought to have sufficient range to strike Beijing.
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Guidance reportedly combines GPS-assisted inertial navigation with Terrain Contour Matching (TERCOM), a system also used by Tomahawks to improve accuracy and survivability by enabling very low-altitude flight. Some accounts suggest an imaging infrared seeker may be used in the terminal phase, further tightening accuracy, according to TWZ. Reported warhead options include high-explosive, bunker-busting, and possibly cluster variants, with weights ranging up to 1,000 pounds.
The timing of the missile’s movement is unlikely to be accidental. As China’s drills demonstrate its ability to strike Taiwan from multiple directions, Taipei would be expected to disperse and reposition its most valuable mobile weapons. Keeping systems like the HF-2E on the move complicates enemy targeting and preserves Taiwan’s ability to respond in a crisis, analysts told TWZ.
Still, numbers matter. Taiwan’s stockpile of land-attack cruise missiles is believed to be far smaller than China’s vast arsenal of ballistic, cruise, and hypersonic weapons. As Choo noted to TWZ, the deterrent value of the HF-2E lies less in matching China missile for missile, and more in imposing costs by threatening high-value targets if Beijing launches an attack.
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With PLA exercises now the largest since 2022, the sight of the HF-2E TEL on the road is a reminder that Taiwan’s deterrence strategy is not purely defensive. It is also about signaling capability, even when that capability usually stays hidden.
