The Ministry of National Defense yesterday unveiled the first images of a bomber drone, a loitering munition and a prototype of a vehicle armed with a 105mm gun developed by the Armaments Bureau.
The bomber drone is a quadcopter capable of attacking ground targets with a heavy explosive and features improved loitering range compared with the army’s current tactical drones, according to a video uploaded to the Military News Agency’s YouTube channel.
An image in the video suggested that the new drone lacks the drum-shaped internal weapons bay used in the army’s tactical drones.
Photo: Screen grab from the Military News Agency’s YouTube channel
The loitering munition, also known as a “suicide drone,” is a fixed-wing, catapult-launched system equipped with a contact fuse and designed for long-range strikes, the agency said.
The video included footage of the suicide drones being launched from a coastal site and a target being struck at sea.
The new drones — developed in close cooperation with the private sector — were designed for ease of mass production, cost-effectiveness and immediate availability to bolster Taiwan’s asymmetric warfare capabilities, military officials said.
The prototype eight-wheeled armored fighting vehicle, named “D3,” utilizes a low-pressure 105mm gun and a reduced-height chassis of less than 3m, based on the army’s requests, it said.
The vehicle is designed for mobility and firepower to augment ground forces’ capabilities to deploy rapidly in counterassault operations, the agency said.
The D3 is armed with a main gun capable of penetrating 500mm of rolled homogeneous steel at a range of 2km, is protected by armor that can resist 30mm cannon fire and has a maximum road speed of 100kph, it said.
The vehicle can climb gradients up to 60°, has a wading depth of up to 70cm and has a 500km cruise range on a full tank of fuel, it added.
The electric turret increases gun precision and features an independent fire-control system, which enables the vehicle commander to target enemies as the gunner fires on other targets, it said.
The prototype is also equipped with a 12.7mm remote-controlled weapon system to defend the vehicle against enemy personnel, the agency said.
The Armaments Bureau selected a wheeled vehicle as the gun platform to make better use of Taiwan’s dense road network, it said.
DEFENSE: The first set of three NASAMS that were previously purchased is expected to be delivered by the end of this year and deployed near the capital, sources said Taiwan plans to procure 28 more sets of M-142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), as well as nine additional sets of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), military sources said yesterday. Taiwan had previously purchased 29 HIMARS launchers from the US and received the first 11 last year. Once the planned purchases are completed and delivered, Taiwan would have 57 sets of HIMARS. The army has also increased the number of MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) purchased from 64 to 84, the sources added. Each HIMARS launch pod can carry six Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, capable of
Tropical Storm Podul strengthened into a typhoon at 8pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with a sea warning to be issued late last night or early this morning. As of 8pm, the typhoon was 1,020km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving west at 23kph. The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA said. Based on the tropical storm’s trajectory, a land warning could be issued any time from midday today, it added. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said Podul is a fast-moving storm that is forecast to bring its heaviest rainfall and strongest
GET TO SAFETY: Authorities were scrambling to evacuate nearly 700 people in Hualien County to prepare for overflow from a natural dam formed by a previous typhoon Typhoon Podul yesterday intensified and accelerated as it neared Taiwan, with the impact expected to be felt overnight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, while the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration announced that schools and government offices in most areas of southern and eastern Taiwan would be closed today. The affected regions are Tainan, Kaohsiung and Chiayi City, and Yunlin, Chiayi, Pingtung, Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as the outlying Penghu County. As of 10pm last night, the storm was about 370km east-southeast of Taitung County, moving west-northwest at 27kph, CWA data showed. With a radius of 120km, Podul is carrying maximum sustained
TRAJECTORY: The severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday, and would influence the nation to varying degrees, a forecaster said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it would likely issue a sea warning for Tropical Storm Podul tomorrow morning and a land warning that evening at the earliest. CWA forecaster Lin Ting-yi (林定宜) said the severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving west at 21kph and packing sustained winds of 108kph and gusts of up to 136.8kph, the CWA said. Lin said that the tropical storm was about 1,710km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, with two possible trajectories over the next one
RSS