Taiwan will accelerate the development of military drones based on lessons it has learned from Russia’s war against Ukraine, owing to rising aggression from China, its defence ministry said on Tuesday.
Taiwan’s Plans
Taiwan Defence Ministry spokesperson Sun Li-fang told reporters that the island is speeding up the development and production of drones.
“Responding to the present enemy threat and using the general experience of drones in the Ukraine-Russia war, in order to construct an asymmetric combat power for our country’s drones, the defence ministry is speeding up research and development and production of various drones,” Sun announced.
Sun added that the military-affiliated National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology will take the lead in the project development, which will also include civilian companies.
5 PLA aircraft and 4 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected by 6 a.m.(UTC+8) today. R.O.C. Armed Forces have monitored the situation and tasked CAP aircraft, Navy vessels, and land-based missile systems to respond these activities. pic.twitter.com/PV9ECwTIOr
— 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, R.O.C. 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) February 7, 2023
Advanced Technology
Chi Li-ping, director of the institute’s Aeronautical Systems Research Division, told the media that, in the future, the self-governing island “will continue to develop key technologies, drive the development of the domestic drone industry, improve technology and enter the international market.”
Chi added that the application of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in the Russian-Ukrainian war will be “used as a reference” to build Taiwan’s own UAV “asymmetrical combat power,” which he said is in response to “the current threat from the enemy.”
He further mentioned that, according to the needs of the Taiwanese military, the drone manufacturers will make “customised, large-scale, and special drones.” He noted that “mature technology” will be used in production by the private sector.