Taiwan’s top military research body yesterday unveiled nine domestically developed drones in Taichung, including a loitering munition, or “suicide drone,” similar to the US-made AeroVironment Switchblade 300.
The surveillance and attack drones shown to the media by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology included the Albatross medium-range uncrewed aerial vehicle Nos. 1 and 2, and the Teng Yun 2 and Cardinal 2 and 3 indigenous uncrewed combat aerial vehicles.
The institute also unveiled a domestically made drone inspired by the AeroVironment Switchblade 300, which Ukrainian forces have employed in the country’s war with Russia.
Photo: CNA
Aeronautical Systems Research Division head Chi Li-pin (齊立平) told reporters that the miniature loitering munition has a range of 10km, can fly for 15 minutes and can fit inside a rucksack.
The device, which has a high-performance electro-optical and infrared sensor, can be carried by a single soldier and can destroy high-value, high-risk vehicles as well as target personnel, Chi said.
“It is like a large grenade capable of flying,” Chi said.
Photo: Chiang Ying-ying, AP
The “suicide” drone would be well suited for attacking coastal and near-shore enemy targets, he said, adding that it was compatible with Taiwan’s military needs with regards to conducting asymmetrical warfare against a much stronger rival.
Institute president Art Chang (張忠誠) said that the war in Ukraine had focused attention on drones and his institution has teamed up with Taiwanese companies to build a “national team” to develop military drones.
The military has announced a partnership with companies aimed at producing 3,000 drones next year.
Photo: Chiang Ying-ying, AP
Separately yesterday, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) said that the military would adjust its deployments in Kinmen County amid security concerns after a missing soldier was later confirmed alive in China.
Chiu made the comment on the sidelines of a legislative session while discussing the case of a private first class surnamed Chen (陳), who was confirmed by the government to be safe in China’s Xiamen after disappearing on Thursday last week.
Chen was reported missing from Erdan (二膽), a small islet in Kinmen less than 5km from Xiamen.
Asked if the military was worried that Chen’s presence in China could pose a security risk, Chiu said that the private’s access to confidential information was irrelevant because the military was going to take precautions one way or the other.
“We will make adjustments [concerning troop deployments] as we conduct a regular review of our deployments,” he said.
Despite widespread speculation over what happened and why Chen would leave Erdan, including that he might have fled to escape debts, no clear explanation of the case has been provided.
Asked why Chen left his post, Chiu had little to offer yesterday other than saying an investigation had not found that the soldier had disputes with superior officers before going missing.
Responding to a Reuters report the day before about a sharp increase in British exports of submarine parts to Taiwan, Chiu declined to comment directly, saying that the domestic submarine program faces many difficulties, but is going according to plan.
Additional reporting by Reuters
SWITCH TO BEIJING: The government severed diplomatic relations about an hour after Honduras announced the move, saying that no semi-official ties would be maintained Taiwan severed diplomatic ties with Honduras and ended all cooperation with the Central American country, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, about an hour and a half after the Honduran Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Twitter at 8am Taiwan time that the nation would cut its ties with Taiwan. Honduran President Xiomara Castro on Wednesday sent Honduran Minister of Foreign Affairs Eduardo Enrique Reina to Beijing to negotiate the establishment of diplomatic relations. She announced the plan on March 14 on Twitter. “To safeguard Taiwan’s sovereignty and dignity, Taiwan is terminating diplomatic ties with Honduras with immediate effect” after communication with
TRADE MISSION: After Fijian elections in December last year, pro-democratic parties formed a coalition and overruled a name change imposed by the former government The Taipei Trade Office in Fiji has been restored to its former name, the Trade Mission of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to the Republic of Fiji, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. Fiji on Friday last week issued a note verbale to the office saying that the name change was retroactively effective from March 15, Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Director-General Wallace Chow (周民淦) told a news conference in Taipei. The mission’s diplomatic privileges have been reinstated as stipulated in Fiji’s Diplomatic Privileges and Immunities Act, which was enacted in 1971, Chow said. Taiwan set up a trade
Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday departed for a 12-day trip to China as scheduled, despite calls for him to cancel the trip after Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan as an apparent result of China’s dollar diplomacy. “This is my first trip to China. I was 37 when I began handling cross-strait affairs in the government. Now I am 73 and have waited 36 years for the visit. It is indeed a bit too long, but I am glad I can go,” Ma of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) told reporters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. “Aside from paying respects to
‘INDISPENSABLE ROLE’: Despite stopovers in the US, Tsai said the aim of her trip is to ‘demonstrate determination to deepen exchanges’ with the allies of the nation President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday afternoon left Taiwan on a 10-day trip to Central America that includes stopovers in New York and Los Angeles. “Through this visit, I will express my gratitude to diplomatic partners for their support of Taiwan,” Tsai said at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport shortly before boarding the plane. The trip to Guatemala and Belize — her first overseas journey since the COVID-19 pandemic began sweeping around the world in early 2020 — aims to “demonstrate Taiwan’s determination to deepen exchanges” with its Central American allies, she said. Tsai said that she and her delegation would also explore the possibility