The army on Friday inaugurated its Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Training Center, with Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) and Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) in attendance watching a brief exercise demonstrating its capabilities in using drones for reconnaissance and combat.
The center is part of the army’s Education, Training and Doctrine Development Command, and is tasked with teaching basic drone operations and maintenance, as well as fostering teaching talent, drone tactics, and research and development, Commander of Army Headquarters General Lu Kun-hsiu (呂坤修) said.
The center’s inauguration symbolized the army’s advances in developing asymmetrical combat capabilities, he said.
Photo courtesy of Military News Agency
Drones would be a critical force and component in future warfare, and the army’s focus on drones also demonstrates that the army is aware of developing trends for future warfare and is making efforts to embrace those trends, Lu said.
Hsiao, making the visit at the Neijiao Base on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德), thanked the center’s officers and soldiers for their dedication and hard work over the past year, and their families for their support.
Lai has instructed that the military should keep abreast of new technologies, such as drones and artificial intelligence (AI), and mull the utilization of such technologies to improve national security, Hsiao said.
Hsiao said the Lai administration emphasized the development of various types of drone platforms for military use, such as submersible drones and stealth-capable maritime drones, and other military-specification drones allowed for commercial use.
In line with this focus, the government has developed an Aerospace and Drone Industry Park in Chiayi County’s Minsyong Township (民雄), using the west wing of the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology complex in the area, she added.
The government has also encouraged private companies to focus on drone development and become part of the global supply chain for drone components or manufacturing, she said.
In an interview with Lithuanian National Radio and Television on Dec. 16 last year, Hsiao said that Taiwan hoped to collaborate with like-minded partners worldwide to develop AI, which would play a significant role in future industries.
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