The Cabinet is planning to purchase drone jamming guns and set up a “passive radar detection and response system” to deter sabotage and enemy attacks as part of a two-tier defense scheme involving Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) and CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油), a Ministry of Economic Affairs official said during a press event on Saturday.
Taipower and CPC Corp facilities, including nuclear energy plants operated by the former, are listed as Category 1 critical infrastructure, a Cabinet official said, adding that in the wake of China’s incursions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, these facilities need enhanced protection.
As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine showed, drones are used by both sides in fighting scenarios to attack and destroy critical infrastructure, therefore the ministry this year approved drone jamming gun procurement, the ministry official said.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan Power Co
Taipower this year approved a more than NT$10 million (US$319,438) budget for the acquisition of the first batch of 60 drone jamming guns, the official said, adding that one to two guns are to be distributed to each Taipower plant and the second batch procurement would be made before next year.
The ministry is also to set up a “passive radar detection and response system” around Taipower and CPC Corp facilities, they said.
The system is already in place for Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, a Taipower official said, adding that it detects unknown flying objects or aircraft a few kilometers away from a power plant or a major electricity grid and tracks the object to find its path.
Each unit is expected to cost about NT$10 million, the Taipower official said.
Lacking any drone jamming guns, the Taichung Power Plant is working with the city’s police department to establish surveillance stations integrated into the “intelligence-gathering system” at the Taichung Harbor, which is linked up with a local security protection network, the ministry official said.
The Taichung Power Plant is located near Taichung Harbor, which is off-limits to drones, the official said, adding that commercial drones using GPS would be rendered useless when intruding into such an off-limits zone.
However, non-commercial drones are difficult to inspect, which is why drone jamming guns are needed for critical infrastructure’s security, they said, adding that it might later be discussed whether critical Taipower and CPC Corp facilities need to be designated as “no drone zones.”
Japan has deployed long-range missiles in a southwestern region near China, the Japanese defense minister said yesterday, at a time when ties with Beijing are at their lowest in recent years. The missiles were installed in Kumamoto in the southern region of Kyushu, as Japan is attempting to shore up its military capacity as China steps up naval activity in the East China Sea. “Standoff defense capabilities enable us to counter the threat of enemy forces attempting to invade our country ... while ensuring the safety of our personnel,” Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. “This is an extremely important initiative for
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) today accepted an invitation from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to lead a delegation to China next month, saying she hopes to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations and bring stability to the Taiwan Strait. “I am grateful and happy to accept this invitation,” Cheng said in a statement from the KMT chairperson’s office. Cheng said she hopes both sides can work together to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, enhance exchange and cooperation, bring stability to the Taiwan Strait and improve people’s livelihoods. At today's news conference, Cheng said any efforts to
MORE POPULAR: Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said The Tourism Administration yesterday said that it has streamlined the Taiwan Pass, with two versions available for purchase beginning today. The tourism agency has made the pass available to international tourists since 2024, allowing them to access the high-speed rail, Taiwan Railway Corp services, four MRT systems and four Taiwan Tourist Shuttles. Previously, five types of Taiwan Pass were available, but some tourists have said that the offerings were too complicated. The agency said only two types of Taiwan Pass would be available, starting from a three-day pass with the high-speed rail and a three-day pass with Taiwan Railway Corp. The former costs NT$2,800
The nation’s fastest supercomputer, Nano 4 (晶創26), is scheduled to be launched in the third quarter, and would be used to train large language models in finance and national defense sectors, the National Center for High-Performance Computing (NCHC) said. The supercomputer, which would operate at about 86.05 petaflops, is being tested at a new cloud computing center in the Southern Taiwan Science Park in Tainan. The exterior of the server cabinet features chip circuitry patterns overlaid with a map of Taiwan, highlighting the nation’s central position in the semiconductor industry. The center also houses Taiwania 2, Taiwania 3, Forerunner 1 and
RSS