Uncrewed tactical reconnaissance and combat-capable drones are to be prioritized to ensure the annihilation of enemy forces on beachheads and coastal zones, Ministry of National Defense plans submitted for legislative review alongside the fiscal 2019 defense budget showed on Friday.
Tengyun long-range drones developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology, as well as anti-radiation attack drones being developed as part of Project Jiansiang, are being considered, the ministry said.
The Tengyun drones have four weapons pylons compatible with Hellfire missiles or similar air-to-surface missiles, the ministry said, adding that the anti-radiation drones would be able to find and target enemy radar systems, or the platforms on which they are installed.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
The development of drones is part of the ministry’s goal to ensure the annihilation of enemy deployments on beaches.
Drones would relay information about enemy movements and improve combat efficiency due to the accurate information they provide, the ministry said.
The plan consists of four major goals: force protection, decisive victory in littoral areas, the annihilation of enemies on beachheads and providing disaster relief.
Greater mobility, more underground bases and the construction of more underground bunkers would greatly preserve logistics capability and combat survival rates, the ministry said.
Mobile air defense will be strengthened, while camouflage and reinforcement of joint-command structures is also planned, it said.
Precision-strike weaponry would be advantageous to winning engagements in littoral regions, while multi-role drones with longer airborne times and increased subsurface combat capabilities are being looked into, the ministry said.
Establishment of light, highly efficient combat ships to work in tandem with anti-surface strikes would increase the area of combat proficiency, the ministry said, adding that land-based anti-surface missiles would also help win decisive victories in coastal regions.
Anti-armor missiles, portable anti-armor and air defense weaponry, as well as mobile, precision weaponry would boost the military’s capabilities to defend beachheads, the ministry said.
Equipment and software systems to assist disaster-relief efforts will be purchased, while additional funding would be provided to buy hazardous-materials suits to protect military personnel from chemical or nuclear warfare, the ministry said.
Beijing could eventually see a full amphibious invasion of Taiwan as the only "prudent" way to bring about unification, the US Department of Defense said in a newly released annual report to Congress. The Pentagon's "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025," was in many ways similar to last year’s report but reorganized the analysis of the options China has to take over Taiwan. Generally, according to the report, Chinese leaders view the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) capabilities for a Taiwan campaign as improving, but they remain uncertain about its readiness to successfully seize
Taiwan is getting a day off on Christmas for the first time in 25 years. The change comes after opposition parties passed a law earlier this year to add or restore five public holidays, including Constitution Day, which falls on today, Dec. 25. The day marks the 1947 adoption of the constitution of the Republic of China, as the government in Taipei is formally known. Back then the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) governed China from Nanjing. When the KMT, now an opposition party in Taiwan, passed the legislation on holidays, it said that they would help “commemorate the history of national development.” That
Taiwan has overtaken South Korea this year in per capita income for the first time in 23 years, IMF data showed. Per capita income is a nation’s GDP divided by the total population, used to compare average wealth levels across countries. Taiwan also beat Japan this year on per capita income, after surpassing it for the first time last year, US magazine Newsweek reported yesterday. Across Asia, Taiwan ranked fourth for per capita income at US$37,827 this year due to sustained economic growth, the report said. In the top three spots were Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong, it said. South
Snow fell on Yushan (Jade Mountain, 玉山) yesterday morning as a continental cold air mass sent temperatures below freezing on Taiwan’s tallest peak, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Snowflakes were seen on Yushan’s north peak from 6:28am to 6:38am, but they did not fully cover the ground and no accumulation was recorded, the CWA said. As of 7:42am, the lowest temperature recorded across Taiwan was minus-5.5°C at Yushan’s Fengkou observatory and minus-4.7°C at the Yushan observatory, CWA data showed. On Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County, a low of 1.3°C was recorded at 6:39pm, when ice pellets fell at Songsyue Lodge (松雪樓), a
RSS