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.
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