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.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency as well as long-term residency in Taiwan has decreased, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, adding that the reduction of Chinese spouses staying or living in Taiwan is only one facet reflecting the general decrease in the number of people willing to get married in Taiwan. The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency last year was 7,123, down by 2,931, or 29.15 percent, from the previous year. The same census showed that the number of Chinese spouses applying for long-term residency and receiving approval last year stood at 2,973, down 1,520,
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