A drone countermeasure system to be used by the army would be completed by the end of this year at a cost of NT$988 million (US$30.1 million), the Ministry of National Defense said.
The contract was won by Tron Future Tech Inc (創未來科技) after previously failed bids, the ministry said on Friday, adding that the company would finish production of the systems by the end of the year, with initial deployments in Kinmen and Lienchiang countries, as well as at the army’s base in Taoyuan’s Longtan District (龍潭).
China’s incursions into airspace and waters near Taiwan have increasingly included drone activity, which necessitates actions to protect national security, the ministry said.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
“Small and medium-sized drones frequently harass our outlying islands, and there have even been drone swarm attacks to test the army’s defense capabilities,” it said.
In addition to the army’s drone countermeasure system, the ministry said it is also planning to purchase a “remote control drone defense system” for the air force, which has a budget of NT$4.35 billion.
The ministry would commission the Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology to build the system and purchase jammers, it said.
“The system would be aimed at defending against incursions by Chinese drones, as well as protecting bases, ports, airports and other such areas,” the ministry said.
Drones and anti-drone defense systems would eventually be installed at outlying islands, isolated military camps, high-mountain facilities, missile-launch positions and other sensitive areas, it added.
The systems would allow the military to conduct reconnaissance and interfere with intruder uncrewed aerial vehicles, improve base security, maintain flight safety, and provide better wartime defense and combat capabilities, the ministry said.
Prior to winning the bid for the drone countermeasure system, Tron Future had taken its system to test sites in Yilan and Kinmen counties, a source said.
“The military was not satisfied with the initial tests, so it asked the contractor to make improvements, which it did, and it finally met the ministry’s requirements,” they said.
According to Tron Future’s Web site its anti-drone system is comprised of three components: a radar, a jammer and an interceptor drone.
The interceptor “has a radar and image seeker with choices of explosive or non-destructive warheads for dealing with different situations. [It] flies back to the desired location when an intercept mission is complete,” it says.
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