The nation is developing a fleet of high-altitude balloons and drones to bolster Taiwan’s communications resiliency, the Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA) said.
The high-altitude communications balloons and drones would serve as the backbone of an Internet network under the nation’s exclusive control, it said.
In October, Taiwan launched its first high-altitude communications balloon carrying hydrogen fuel cells and mobile base stations, MODA Department of Resource Management Director Niu Hsin-jen (牛信仁) told the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) in a recent interview.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Digital Affairs
The program is a collaboration of the ministry, TH Aero Tech (天興航太), the Industrial Technology Research Institute, the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, the National Taipei University of Science and Technology and the nation’s three main telecoms, Niu said.
The domestically developed and manufactured system is designed to control telecommunications networks across a 380km2 area during a military conflict or natural disaster, he said.
Balloons offer important advantages over other platforms, such as being inexpensive and easy to mass produce, making them resilient to attrition, he said.
Unlike satellite deployments that require negotiations with foreign governments on orbits and the usage of frequencies, balloons can use any frequency and be deployed at will within Taiwan’s airspace, he said.
The key technologies of the high-altitude balloons’ design and manufacturing are primarily sourced from the US, the UK, Japan and the Czech Republic, none of which pose a potential national security threat, Niu said.
Airships, balloons and drones are the main types of high-altitude station platforms that can be used for wireless communications, he said, adding that balloons were selected for their superior payload, loiter time and technological maturity.
The government did not develop airships due to the heavy energy consumption required for their deployment, Niu said.
The ministry is next year to increase the operational ceiling of balloons to 800m or higher, enable linkage between balloon-run networks to mimic the capability of satellite constellations and develop a drone-based platform station, he said.
The balloon-based, high-altitude platform station remains an experimental technology, but the potential for commercialization is substantial and could be achieved if a certification system is created, he said.
PLA MANEUVERS: Although Beijing has yet to formally announce military drills, its coast guard vessels have been spotted near and around Taiwan since Friday The Taiwanese military is on high alert and is closely monitoring the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) air and naval deployments after Beijing yesterday reserved seven airspace areas east of its Zhejiang and Fujian provinces through Wednesday. Beijing’s action was perceived as a precursor to a potential third “Joint Sword” military exercise, which national security experts said the PLA could launch following President William Lai’s (賴清德) state visits to the nation’s three Pacific allies and stopovers in Hawaii and Guam last week. Unlike the Joint Sword military exercises in May and October, when Beijing provided detailed information about the affected areas, it
Five flights have been arranged to help nearly 2,000 Taiwanese tourists return home from Okinawa after being stranded due to cruise ship maintenance issues, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced yesterday. China Airlines Ltd (中華航空), and EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) have arranged five flights with a total of 748 additional seats to transport 1,857 passengers from the MSC Bellissima back to Taiwan, the ministry said. The flights have been scheduled for yesterday and today by the Civil Aviation Administration, with the cruise operator covering all associated costs. The MSC Bellissima, carrying 4,341 passengers, departed from Keelung on Wednesday last week for Okinawa,
US president-elect Donald Trump said he would “never say” if Washington is committed to defending Taiwan from China, but “I would prefer that they do not do it [ an attack],” adding that he has a “good relationship” with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). “I never say because I have to negotiate things, right?” Trump said in an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press host Kristen Welker after saying he would not reveal his incoming administration’s stance on Taiwan’s defense in the event of an attack. Asked the question again, Trump, in a reference to China, said: “I would prefer that they
CROSS-STRAIT TENSIONS: MOFA demanded Beijing stop its military intimidation and ‘irrational behavior’ that endanger peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region The Presidential Office yesterday called on China to stop all “provocative acts,” saying ongoing Chinese military activity in the nearby waters of Taiwan was a “blatant disruption” of the “status quo” of security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. Defense officials said they have detected Chinese ships since Monday, both off Taiwan and farther out along the first island chain. They described the formations as two walls designed to demonstrate that the waters belong to China. The Ministry of National Defense yesterday said it had detected 53 military aircraft operating around the nation over the past 24 hours, as well
RSS