The Ministry of National Defense (MND) has included the funding needed to mass-produce Type-1 and Type-2 suicide drones in next year’s budget plan, a military source said yesterday.
Although the US government last month approved sales of Switchblade 300 loitering munitions and Altius 600M-V uncrewed aerial vehicles to Taiwan, which are scheduled for delivery between this year and the next, military leaders assessed that Taiwan would still have an inadequate number of attack drones to bolster national defense, the source said, asking to remain anonymous.
Taiwan needs to mass produce locally made attack drones, including Type-1 and Type-2 suicide drones, they said.
Photo: Taipei Times file
Meanwhile, mass production of Chien Hsiang anti-radiation drones, developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology, would be completed next year, they said.
The anti-radiation drone’s functions would be improved, while the ministry would continue to produce drones with enhanced functions at a smaller scale using the annual defense budget, the source said.
Chien Hsiang drones are designed to lock in on and attack radar stations, including those on ships, while Type-1 and Type-2 suicide drones are mainly used by ground troops on anti-armor missions, they said.
Similar to the Switchblade 300, Type-1 suicide drones are designed as easy-to-use equipment for soldiers and can be deployed quickly, the source said.
The flight time of a Type-1 suicide drone is about 15 minutes, with a guided control range exceeding 10km, institute data showed.
Type-2 suicide drones have a longer flight time, and can carry out reconnaissance and attack missions beyond visual range using imagery, infrared and microwave systems to trace targets. They can also be used for swarm attacks and can be installed on ships and vehicles.
In other news, the navy might conduct a sinking exercise during the one-month live-fire drills after the Han Kuang exercises.
The Sink Exercise (SINKEX) program is one of the highlights of the second phase of the Rim of the Pacific exercises, which are to begin today. Military units participating in the SINKEX exercise are to use a range of anti-ship weapons to sink the retired 40,000-tonne USS Tarawa, an amphibious assault ship.
The Maritime and Port Bureau on Friday announced that the navy is to conduct live-fire training from July 30 to Aug. 30.
The drills would be conducted in three main areas.
The first area would be in the waters and airspace east of Taitung and Pingtung counties, and west of Green Island (綠島) and Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼), the bureau said.
The second area covers the sea and airspace extending from the east coast of Taiwan more than 140km from the east coasts of Green and Orchid islands.
The third area covers sea and airspace south of Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) and Orchid island.
The live-fire training would be conducted by the Navy Command Headquarters, rather than by the Chungshan Institute as in the past, the bulletin said.
Based on what the navy is currently using, the live-fire training could include anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles, such as Hsiung Feng III missiles, which are capable of destroying land-based and naval targets.
As eight basketball-playing international students appealed to the Taiwanese basketball industry after they were excluded from the draft of an upcoming new league merging the P.League+ and the T1 League, the new league’s preparatory committee spokesperson Chang Shu-jen (張樹人) yesterday said the committee would tomorrow discuss the supplementary measures and whether the international students can join the draft. The students on Tuesday called for support on their right to play in the upcoming new league, after a merger involving the two leagues impacted their eligibility for the draft. The international players from the University Basketball Association (UBA), led by first pick prospect
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Some foreign companies are considering moving Taiwanese employees out of China after Beijing said it could impose the death penalty on “die-hard” Taiwanese independence advocates, four people familiar with the matter said. The new guidelines have caused some Taiwanese expatriates and foreign multinationals operating in China to scramble to assess their legal risks and exposure, said the people, who include a lawyer and two executives with direct knowledge of the discussions. “Several companies have come to us to assess the risks to their personnel,” said the lawyer, James Zimmerman, a Beijing-based partner at the Perkins Coie law firm. He declined to identify
BOLSTERING DEFENSE: The explosive is 40 percent more powerful than those in use and could be deployed for Hsiung Feng II and III missiles, a government source said The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology has developed a polycyclic nitroamine explosive, commonly known as CL-20, which is the most powerful non-nuclear explosive known, a government source said yesterday on condition of anonymity. The institute has significantly improved explosive and rocket propellant research and development in recent years, the source said. A new factory was established in June 2022 with NT$540 million (US$16.6 million) in equipment installed, the source said. A central complex that would house 50-gallon (189 liters) and 300-gallon (1,136 liters) explosive mixer machines, as well as a storage device, was constructed in the factory, the institute said. The explosive is