A senior US military officer is to privately brief a US congressional subcommittee on how a new weapons system could be used in the Taiwan Strait.
The system involves heavily armed surveillance drones that would fly from aircraft carriers to counter Chinese anti-ship missiles.
“If these unmanned platforms can keep the US Navy carrier battle groups relevant in the face of new Chinese threats, that will benefit Taiwan tremendously,” said Richard Fisher, senior fellow on Asian military affairs at the International Assessment and Strategy Center.
The US House of Representatives’ Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee called a hearing on the drones — officially known as Unmanned Carrier Launched Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) — earlier this month.
Subcommittee Chairman Randy Forbes said the UCLASS program was “integral to ensuring our carrier fleet can continue to project power throughout the globe.”
Forbes asked one of the witnesses, Pentagon-based Brigadier General Joseph Guastella, if the UCLASS drones could operate over areas guarded by Chinese warships.
Guastella answered that the capabilities of Chinese surface action groups had been considered and that he would be “happy to come by and show you what that exactly entails, what that threat is, where that threat is located.”
Forbes responded: “And when you do, could you also talk about the Taiwan Strait and how it would operate there?”
“Yes sir, I would be happy to do that,” Guastella said.
No details on how the UCLASS drones would deal with Chinese warships were given in the open hearing and are presumably classified.
However, it is known that prototype UCLASS drones have been landed on aircraft carriers and that the plan is to use them in the future for intelligence gathering, surveillance, reconnaissance, targeting and strike capability.
Four major US companies are now competing for the UCLASS development and production contract.
One proposal is for the drone to carry a 1,000-pound (453.6kg) Laser Joint Attack Munition and be operational by about 2020.
“The US is in an arms race,” Fisher told the Taipei Times.
He said that last year, the US Navy had to revise UCLASS requirements, decreasing stealth capabilities in exchange for larger size and range.
“The UCLASS technology demonstration vehicle, the Northrop-Grumman X-47B, has an estimated combat radius of about 1,900km, which may have been too close to the estimated 1,700km range of the PLA’s [China’s People’s Liberation Army] DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile,” Fisher said.
The UCLASS that should be entering service in about six years will be larger and have a longer range.
“These platforms could eventually be armed with high-power lasers to perform missile defense and anti-satellite missions,” Fisher said.
However, he stressed that reliance on unmanned platforms carries clear risks.
They are vulnerable to enemy electronic interference and “insider” threats.
Fisher said that absent appropriate countermeasures, one traitor with deep inside knowledge on a flash drive could in seconds turn the US’ unmanned air force into the PLA’s unmanned air force.
He said the next step for the US may be to develop UCLASS size platforms that are also capable of sustained high supersonic speeds to better counter long-range PLA missiles and eventual PLA long-range drones.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS