The US has sold kamikaze drones to Taiwan for more than NT$5.2 billion (US$161.66 million), Taiwan’s government e-procurement system showed today.
The two separate packages consist of 685 Switchblade 300 loitering munitions and related equipment at a cost of NT$1.74 billion, and 291 ALTIUS 600M-V drone systems and related equipment at a cost of NT$3.53 billion, which are to be delivered by 2029 and 2027 respectively, the system showed.
A loitering munition is a drone designed to loiter around a target area and attack enemy targets when spotted. The Switchblade 300 is a tube-launched drone designed to attack ground troops.
Photo: National Police of Ukraine press service via Reuters
The ALTIUS 600M-V is the warhead variant of the Anduril series of loitering munitions. It can be deployed from various platforms and in a networked swarm.
Taiwan’s military said drones are “standard equipment” for modernized armed forces and a kind of “innovative and asymmetrical” means of defense, adding that the procurement of the drones and missiles is necessary.
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.
The Ministry of National Defense’s budget proposal for the next fiscal year released earlier this year showed that the government plans to spend more than NT$10 billion to procure military drones.
The NT$5.2 billion cost for the two packages does not reach half of the ministry’s proposed budget.
The Pentagon has formed a “tiger team” to discuss foreign military sales and ensure that Taiwan has sufficient military capabilities, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said last year.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party
Taiwan and its Pacific ally Tuvalu on Tuesday signed two accords aimed at facilitating bilateral cooperation on labor affairs, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). The governments inked two agreements in Taipei, witnessed by Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) and visiting Deputy Tuvaluan Prime Minister Panapasi Nelesone, MOFA said in a news release. According to MOFA, the agreements will facilitate cooperation on labor issues and allow the two sides to mutually recognize seafarers’ certificates and related training. Taiwan would also continue to collaborate with Tuvalu across various fields to promote economic prosperity as well as the well-being of their
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 today amid outcry over his decision to wear a Nazi armband to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case last night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and covering the book with his coat. Lee said today that this is a serious
RSS