The army has begun using newly purchased target-acquisition drones to bolster its surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.
The target-acquisition drones are part of the 3,000 commercial drones that the Ministry of National Defense purchased from the private sector in August. The ministry has also purchased drones that are designed to conduct land-based surveillance and reconnaissance, ship-based surveillance and reconnaissance, and other types of drones.
The entire drone procurement package cost NT$6.87 billion (US$211.7 million), of which about NT$566.6 million has been allocated to pay for 72 target-acquisition drones developed by MiTAC Information Technology, the ministry’s budget report showed.
Photo courtesy of Youth Daily News
Forty-two target-acquisition drones are scheduled to be delivered this year, while 30 are scheduled to be delivered next year, the report said.
A photo published by the ministry-funded Youth Daily News on Friday showed that a target-acquisition drone was displayed at an event celebrating the 93rd anniversary of the Army Artillery Training Command.
Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Yen-pu (徐衍璞) and other defense officials participated in the event.
The drones would bolster the army’s capabilities in target acquisition, surveillance and reconnaissance as well as in retaliatory and anti-aircraft operations, the ministry said.
They can also be used to monitor firepower of weapons, track the paths of enemy ships at sea and improve combat efficiency, it added.
Target-acquisition drones weigh less than 3kg and have a flight time of about one hour, a notice on the Government e-Procurement System said.
The drone’s remote-control range is up to 50km, with a maximum speed of about 100kph, it said.
They can fly to an altitude of more than 3,000m, carry an electro-optical/infra-red dual optical lens and resist level-5 winds, it added.
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