China is developing drones to spy on Taiwan, a study from the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission indicates.
“When fully integrated into the force structure, these Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) will improve the PLA’s [People’s Liberation Army] ability to assess US and Taiwan military force posture and intent and to employ long-range weapons systems,” the study says.
Written by policy analyst Kimberly Hsu and titled China’s Military Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Industry, the study was prepared for the US Congress.
According to the study, Beijing employs UAVs in a wide range of missions, though the extent to which it does so and its level of overall proficiency and integration are unclear.
“The PLA’s focus appears to be on employing UAVs for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and military communication relay, but likely it is developing and operating UAVs for electronic warfare and lethal missions as well,” the study says.
It says that China’s UAV industry has recently made advances in armed UAVs and unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) development, including those with stealth technology.
“Shorter-range UAVs could perform intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance on fixed and mobile targets on Taiwan and in the Taiwan Strait,” the study says.
“Depending on their basing and range, some of these UAVs also may conduct intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance on ships at sea in portions of the East and South China Seas,” the study concludes.
Long-range UAVs could conduct long-duration surveillance at extended distances from China and enable over-the-horizon targeting by PLA Navy long-range anti-ship cruise missiles and the Second Artillery’s DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missiles. They could be particularly useful for detecting, locating, and tracking high-value fixed and mobile targets — such as US Navy ships — throughout the Western Pacific, the study says.
China’s UAV industry is also developing medium-altitude, long-endurance UAVs and high-altitude, long-endurance UAVs.
“When operational, these advanced UAVs could conduct persistent broad-area surveillance capabilities at extended ranges and early-warning during wartime,” the study says.
In addition to fulfilling domestic market demand from the PLA and other domestic customers, Chinese companies appear to be positioning themselves to become key suppliers of UAVs in the global market.
“China’s unmanned aerial vehicle industry is diversifying and expanding,” the study says.
It says that surging domestic and international market demand for UAVs, from both military and civilian customers, will continue to buoy the growth of the Chinese industry.
“Chinese defense firms do not face the same export restrictions as top UAV-exporting countries, such as the United States and Israel,” the study says. “As a result, China could become a key UAV proliferator, particularly to developing countries.”
Japan has deployed long-range missiles in a southwestern region near China, the Japanese defense minister said yesterday, at a time when ties with Beijing are at their lowest in recent years. The missiles were installed in Kumamoto in the southern region of Kyushu, as Japan is attempting to shore up its military capacity as China steps up naval activity in the East China Sea. “Standoff defense capabilities enable us to counter the threat of enemy forces attempting to invade our country ... while ensuring the safety of our personnel,” Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. “This is an extremely important initiative for
The nation’s fastest supercomputer, Nano 4 (晶創26), is scheduled to be launched in the third quarter, and would be used to train large language models in finance and national defense sectors, the National Center for High-Performance Computing (NCHC) said. The supercomputer, which would operate at about 86.05 petaflops, is being tested at a new cloud computing center in the Southern Taiwan Science Park in Tainan. The exterior of the server cabinet features chip circuitry patterns overlaid with a map of Taiwan, highlighting the nation’s central position in the semiconductor industry. The center also houses Taiwania 2, Taiwania 3, Forerunner 1 and
MORE POPULAR: Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said The Tourism Administration yesterday said that it has streamlined the Taiwan Pass, with two versions available for purchase beginning today. The tourism agency has made the pass available to international tourists since 2024, allowing them to access the high-speed rail, Taiwan Railway Corp services, four MRT systems and four Taiwan Tourist Shuttles. Previously, five types of Taiwan Pass were available, but some tourists have said that the offerings were too complicated. The agency said only two types of Taiwan Pass would be available, starting from a three-day pass with the high-speed rail and a three-day pass with Taiwan Railway Corp. The former costs NT$2,800
FIRST TRIAL: Ko’s lawyers sought reduced bail and other concessions, as did other defendants, but the bail judge denied their requests, citing the severity of the sentences Former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was yesterday sentenced to 17 years in prison and had his civil rights suspended for six years over corruption, embezzlement and other charges. Taipei prosecutors in December last year asked the Taipei District Court for a combined 28-year, six-month sentence for the four cases against Ko, who founded the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The cases were linked to the Core Pacific City (京華城購物中心) redevelopment project and the mismanagement of political donations. Other defendants convicted on separate charges included Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying (應曉薇), who was handed a 15-year, six-month sentence; Core Pacific
RSS