The military is reportedly planning to install demining devices on part of its drone fleet and expedite previously planned updates to its demining technologies.
The navy is also planning to create a force focused on minelaying and demining, military sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The navy’s plan, outlined in a recent report to the Legislative Yuan, is part of its response to heightened threats to the nation and the evolution of mine technology, the sources said.
Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
Mid-sized uncrewed multipurpose submarines, which the navy has commissioned the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology to develop, would also be part of the project, codenamed “Huilong” (慧龍), they said.
The prototype for the submarines would enter testing in the third quarter of this year, they said.
The navy has previously said that it seeks to emulate the US and European nations that use uncrewed ships to detect, locate and clear mines.
The sources cited the report as saying that the navy’s domestically produced naval drones would be equipped with advanced demining technology to counter Chinese capabilities to lay mines in the Taiwan Strait.
The project would also help maintain the safety of commercial ships in the Strait, they said.
The navy operates four advanced rapid minelaying ships and is planning to commission four more, one of the sources said.
The project’s budget is NT$7.4 billion (US$242.9 million) and the tender to build the ships began in February, they added.
The updates to the military’s minelaying and demining capabilities come after Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Chiu Chen-yuan (邱臣遠) last year urged the military to commission new purpose-built ships, saying that its Yung Yang demining vessel entered service in the US in 1954 and was bought by Taiwan in 1993.
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