The government is to spend more than NT$10 billion (US$312.73 million) to procure military drones, based on the Ministry of National Defense’s budget proposal for the next fiscal year.
Of the NT$647 billion allocated to overall defense spending next year, NT$467.5 billion is to be used to fund ministry operations.
The budget proposal shows the ministry would dedicate NT$145.8 billion from its operational fund to military investment, particularly to building submarines and to purchasing military drones.
Photo: Screen grab from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems’ Web site
The Executive Yuan last week approved the ministry’s plan to build seven advanced submarines in the next 14 years, at an estimated cost of NT$28.4 billion, with an initial investment of NT$2 billion listed in the budget proposal for next year.
Ministry of National Defense comptroller Lieutenant General Hsieh Chi-hsien (謝其賢) told reporters at a news conference after the weekly Cabinet meeting last week that a significant portion of the operational fund would be used to procure military and commercial drones as well.
The budget proposal includes NT$2.26 billion to continue funding six ongoing drone procurement contracts, purchasing 320 microdrones, 30 target drones, 12 land surveillance drones, 12 ship-based surveillance drones, 805 surveillance drones and 96 tactical short-range drones.
The ministry also plans to spend NT$6.83 billion next year buying four MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones, with the first batch scheduled to be delivered by 2026.
Aside from seven drone-related projects, the ministry has since 2022 been procuring Chien Hsiang (劍翔) anti-radiation drones from the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology. Approximately NT$3 billion of the NT$120 billion project is to be listed in next year’s budget proposal.
The US government in June agreed to sell more than 1,000 Switchblade 300 and Altius 600M-V loitering munition drones to Taiwan, at an estimated cost of US$360.2 million. As delivery of the drones is scheduled to begin next year, the ministry is likely to begin budgeting the payment for next year.
The institute has also been tasked with building Teng Yun (騰雲, “Cloud Rider”) combat drones, Albatross II (銳鳶二型) drones, Cardinal III (紅雀三型) coastal surveillance drones, as well as loitering munition systems, although the budget for the projects has yet to be disclosed.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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