Taiwan must develop ways to counter the rising threat posed by Chinese drones, the Institute for National Defense and Security Research wrote in a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has increasingly used drones in the past few years to carry out “gray zone” operations in the airspace around Taiwan, and over the Taiwan Strait, the East China Sea and South China Sea, the report said.
Taiwan must develop measures to counter the drones, review whether existing weapons and equipment can be used to that end, and develop technologies, equipment and tactics that specifically deal with uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Photo: Reuters
The military should also enhance and expand its use of drones, and develop advanced drone technology to bolster asymmetric combat capabilities, it wrote.
The Chinese UAVs that have been spotted in the region over the past few years include the CH-4 mixed attack and reconnaissance drone; the Harbin BZK-005 high-altitude, long-range drone; the Tengden TB-001 medium-altitude, long-endurance drone; the KVD-001 tactical drone; the BZK-007 reconnaissance drone; and the Wing Loong-10 high-altitude, long-endurance drone.
The latter three first appeared in the past year, the report said.
The Wing Loong-10 first appeared over the Taiwan Strait in April last year, flying northward, it said.
The vehicle, which uses a turbojet engine for propulsion, can be fitted with a variety of weapons systems to pinpoint targets before firing from high altitude, it said.
The BZK-007 first appeared in September last year over waters to the southeast of Taiwan, the report said.
The vehicle is equipped with a satellite antenna to perform long-term reconnaissance and surveillance tasks.
“This drone has the advantage that it is cheap to build, and it can stay in the air for up to 16 hours. It has become part of the regular arsenal of China’s air force,” the report said.
The report said that China was using the incursions into Taiwanese airspace to test its drones’ long-distance flight capabilities, satellite positioning, guidance, control and automatic route planning.
The incursions are also a way for China to test Taiwan’s and Japan’s air-defense response capabilities, it said.
However, China’s military drones are mainly tasked with patrols, surveillance, reconnaissance, target calibration, battlefield assessment, communications support, air-defense suppression and logistical support, it said.
“It is clear that the CCP will use a large number of drones in military and combat missions to support its various stages of combat operations,” the report said.
“This will mean everything from intelligence gathering and communications relay to the implementation of precision strikes and serving as decoys to consume enemy air defenses,” it said.
China might also convert older fighter jets, such as the J-6 and J-7 planes, into UAVs to serve as decoys, it said.
NETWORK-MAPPING PROJECT: The database contains 170 detailed files of Taiwanese politicians and about 23 million records of household registration data in Taiwan China has developed a network-mapping project targeting political figures and parties in Taiwan to monitor public opinion during elections and to craft tailored influence campaigns aimed at dividing Taiwanese society, according to documents leaked by Chinese technology firm GoLaxy (中科天璣). The documents, collected by Taipei-based Doublethink Lab, showed a database was specifically created to gather detailed information on Taiwanese political figures, including their political affiliations, job histories, birthplaces, residences, education, religion and a brief biography about them. Several notable Taiwanese politicians are in the database, including President William Lai (賴清德), former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍),
KEY INDUSTRY: The vice premier discussed a plan to create a non-red drone supply chain by next year, which has been allocated a budget of more than NT$7.2 billion The government has budgeted NT$44.2 billion (US$1.38 billion) to cultivate Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) industry over the next five years, which would make the nation a major player in the industry’s democratic supply chain in the Asia-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. Cho made the remarks during a visit to the facilities of Cub Elecparts Inc (為升電裝). Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Su-yueh (陳素月) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsieh Yi-fong (謝依鳳) also participated in the trip. Cub Elecparts has transitioned from the automotive industry to the defense industry, which is the top priority among the nation’s
UPGRADED MISSILE: The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology is reportedly to conduct a live-fire test of the Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missile on Thursday next week The US Army is planning to build new facilities to boost explosives production and strengthen its supply chain, a move aimed at addressing munitions shortages and supporting obligations to partners including Taiwan, Ukraine and Israel, Defense News reported. The army has issued a sources sought notice for a proposed Center of Excellence at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky, the report said. The facility would serve as a hub within the US industrial base for the production of key military explosives, including research department explosives (RDX) and high melting explosives (HMX), while also supporting research and development of next-generation materials. The proposed
SOUTH KOREA DISPUTE: If Seoul continues to ignore its request, Taiwan would change South Korea’s designation on its arrival cards, the foreign ministry said If South Korea does not reply appropriately to a request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, the government would take corresponding measures to change how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. Taipei has asked Seoul to change the wording. Since March 1, South Koreans who hold government-issued Alien Resident Certificates (ARC) have been identified as from “South Korea” rather than the “Republic of Korea,” the
RSS