The military would procure 1,320 domestically produced “Kuai Chi” attack uncrewed surface vessels (USV), which would be funded under a new special defense resilience budget, a source said yesterday.
The Kuai Chi was tested on Tuesday during the annual “Sea and Air Precision Ammunition Firing Exercise” at the Jiupeng Military Base in Pingtung County. The drone passed the test following a favorable review of its performance by personnel from the Ministry of National Defense, the army and the navy.
As the Kuai Chi has passed evaluations, it could be presented to the public at the Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition, which would take place from Sept. 18 to 20, the source said.
Photo: Tsai Tsung-hsien, Taipei Times
The next step would involve the ministry assigning the Naval Command Headquarters to oversee procurement and mass production of the Kuai Chi for domestic military use, they said, adding that 1,320 of the USVs would be built over five years.
The 1,320 units would be produced and sold to the military in three sets, and each set would be distributed to three divisions, they said.
The three divisions are: the navy’s Coastal Combat Command, which is to be established at the start of next year; the Marine Corps, the force structure of which would be adjusted for the new drone program; and the Army Special Operations Command.
In last week’s test, the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology — which developed the Kuai Chi — tested the new USV in a combat setting involving the integration of multiple uncrewed systems, namely the Kuai Chi itself, the Kuai Chi’s onboard, Ching Feng I (勁蜂1型); FPV suicide drones; and Albatross II (銳鳶二型) uncrewed aerial vehicles, which relayed guidance information to the Kuai Chi.
The live-fire exercise demonstrated how the drones could be used in a joint uncrewed sea-air strike deployment, the source said.
The exercise simulated a complex electronic warfare environment in which the drones were launched from the vessel to jam and suppress enemy close-in defenses. This was followed by drone strikes and the USV itself executing a high-impact explosive suicide attack against dynamic targets, they said, adding that the drone demonstrated precision strike capability and a new form of uncrewed warfare.
In related news, the Executive Yuan on Thursday approved next year’s central government budget, raising total defense spending to NT$949.5 billion (US$31.04 billion), or 3.35 percent of GDP.
While many US-sourced procurements and domestically developed arms programs would be funded under separate special budgets, some key procurements remain in the Ministry of National Defense’s regular fiscal 2026 budget, the sources said.
The regular budget would include funding for the Norwegian National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System; Taiwan’s next-generation frigate program, championed by President William Lai (賴清德); and NT$24.5 billion for the “Zhenhai Project” (震海計畫), which would see the construction of two 2,000-tonne frigates with anti-air and anti-submarine capabilities.
Lai on Friday visited the navy’s 168th fleet in Yilan County and reaffirmed his commitment to the program, saying that it could feature several upgrades, including an increased displacement of 6,500 tonnes.
Additional features would include an active phased-array radar, an advanced combat system, and the Huayang (華陽) vertical launch system, he said, adding that it would be the cornerstone of Taiwan’s future surface combatant fleet.
SILENCING CRITICS: In addition to blocking Taiwan, China aimed to prevent rights activists from speaking out against authoritarian states, a Cabinet department said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday condemned transnational repression by Beijing after RightsCon, a major digital human rights conference scheduled to be held in Zambia this week, was abruptly canceled due to Chinese pressure over Taiwanese participation. This year’s RightsCon, the world’s largest conference discussing issues “at the intersection of human rights and technology,” was scheduled to take place from tomorrow to Friday in Lusaka, and expected to draw 2,600 in-person attendees from 150 countries, along with 1,100 online participants. However, organizers were forced to cancel the event due to behind-the-scenes pressure from China, the ministry said, expressing its “strongest condemnation”
Taiwan’s economy grew far faster than expected in the first quarter, as booming demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications drove a surge in exports, spilling over into investment and consumption, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday. GDP growth was 13.69 percent year-on-year during the January-to-March period, beating the DGBAS’ February forecast by 2.23 percentage points and marking the most robust growth in nearly four decades, DGBAS senior official Chiang Hsin-yi (江心怡) told a news conference in Taipei. The result was powered by exports, which remain the backbone of Taiwan’s economy, Chiang said. Outbound shipments jumped 51.12 percent year-on-year to
DELAYED BUT DETERMINED: The president’s visit highlights Taiwan’s right to international engagement amid regional pressure from China President Willaim Lai (賴清德) yesterday arrived in Eswatini, more than a week after his planned visit to Taiwan’s sole African ally was suspended because of revoked overflight permits. “The visit, originally scheduled for April 22, was postponed due to unforeseen external factors,” Lai wrote on social media. “After several days of careful arrangements by our diplomatic and national security teams, we successfully arrived today.” Lai said he looked forward to further deepening Taiwan-Eswatini relations through closer cooperation in the economy, agriculture, culture and education, as well as advancing the nation’s international partnerships. The president was initially scheduled to arrive in time to celebrate
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) yesterday said the US faced a choice between an “impossible” military operation or a “bad deal” with Tehran, after US President Donald Trump disparaged Iran’s latest peace proposal. Negotiations between the two countries have been deadlocked since a ceasefire came into effect on April 8, with only one round of direct peace talks held so far. Iran’s Tasnim and Fars news agencies reported that Tehran had submitted a 14-point proposal to mediator Pakistan, but Trump was quick to cast doubt on it. “I will soon be reviewing the plan that Iran has just sent to us, but
RSS