The announcement by the US Department of State on Tuesday that Washington will begin selling armed drones to its allies could be positive for Taiwan and its defense efforts.
Sources familiar with US-Taiwan military ties say the new approach is a potentially positive signal for Taiwan, especially given Taipei’s belief that drones can play an important role in helping the nation defend itself.
The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (中山科學研究院), the nation’s main weapons research and development unit, has developed two types of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that it displayed in Taichung in December last year.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
The 5kg Cardinal Mini-UAV, designed for reconnaissance missions, has a remote control flight range of 8km and can remain in the air for up to an hour at a time, the institute said.
The 317kg Albatross UAV, with a wing span of 8m, can remain in the air for more than 10 hours and has a range of 150km, the institute said.
The Republic of China Army already uses the Albatross, which can be used both during the day and at night.
The global drone market is now worth more than US$6 billion a year, according to a Washington Post report, citing Steve Zaloga, a senior analyst at aerospace research firm Teal Group Corp.
Zaloga said drones commonly used by the US military, such as the Reaper, can cost US$10 million to US$15 million, the newspaper said.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘NOT SUBORDINATE’: Only Taiwanese can decide the nation’s future, and people preserving their democratic way of life is not a provocation, President William Lai said Taiwan does not want China’s “one country, two systems,” and must uphold its freedom and democracy as well as resolve to defend itself, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, rejecting Beijing’s latest bid to bring the country under Chinese control. The president made the remarks while attending a commissioning ceremony for Taiwan’s first battalion of M1A2T Abrams tanks in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口). The tanks are made by General Dynamics, a major US defense contractor. China this week said it “absolutely will not” rule out using force over Taiwan, striking a much tougher tone than a series of articles in state media
RSS