The indigenous uncrewed combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) Teng Yun 2 has not passed its combat readiness testing phase, with initial results showing its design has room for improvement, a source with knowledge of the matter said yesterday.
Further combat testing would be conducted after making hardware and software changes to improve the drone’s performance, the source said.
The Teng Yun 2 combat and reconnaissance drone, or “Cloud Rider” (騰雲二型), developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology, evolved from a first-generation drone that did not meet the military’s needs.
Photo: Yu Tai-lang, Taipei Times
The second-generation version is a long-endurance, satellite-guided drone that has a new engine as well as an improved and enhanced configuration and flight control system compared with the first-generation prototype.
It is capable of autonomous takeoffs and landings, is equipped with satellite navigation, and can stay in the air for nearly 24 hours, the source said.
The new version completed its first-phase flight tests in March 2022, and the institute trained air force members to use it in January and February last year before it entered combat readiness testing in March.
Initial combat testing results indicated that there was still room for improvement, the source said, adding that efforts to improve the design of the new version are under way and that further tests would be carried out soon.
The combat readiness testing phase is the final hurdle the drone has to clear before it can be manufactured for military use.
Under the Ministry of National Defense’s five-step process for developing weapons, drones need to make it through an initial conceptual design stage, an engineering development stage, initial weapon testing, and combat readiness testing before they can enter mass production.
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