Taiwan shows off military drones amid tensions with China

TAICHUNG, Taiwan — Taiwan displayed its self-developed drone technology Tuesday, amid rising concerns over China’s threats to use force to assert its claim to the self-governing island republic.

The National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, which develops military technology, offered a rare look at the Chien Hsiang drone designed to destroy enemy radars, and other unmanned combat aerial vehicles.

A dozen of the single-use drones, officially termed loitering munitions, are carried on a truck. Launched with a built-in rocket, they are guided by a propeller engine before crashing into their targets.

A helicopter drone is flown during a demonstration for members of the media at the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology in Taichung in central Taiwan on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022. (Walid Berrazeg/AP)

Any country that is “confident in itself” will come up with strategies and develop defense technologies, said Chi Li-ping, director of the institute’s Aeronautical System Research Division.

Unmanned combat aerial vehicles are “a future trend,” Chi said. “This is why we are doing research about it and laying out some strategies.”

Taiwan’s army began taking delivery last month of the first of 100 helicopter drones ordered from the institute. Chi emphasized their importance in relaying images to the army’s command and communication systems for analysis and forwarding to combat units.

Taiwan has also developed the Teng Yun, which resembles the American MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle and can stay aloft for up to 24 hours.

While the U.S. and others have long used drones in the targeting of alleged terrorists and others, they have proved especially important in the Russian war on Ukraine. Moscow has imported drones from Iran while Kyiv has found success with inexpensive Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles from Turkey, which carry lightweight, laser-guided bombs.

China , meanwhile, has forged ahead with developing its own drones, some models of which have been exported.

China upped its military threat against Taiwan in August in response to a visit by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the island. It shot missiles over the island and held live-fire military drills in six self-declared zones in what appeared to be a rehearsal for a potential blockade and invasion of the island that would almost certainly draw in Taiwan’s chief supporter, the United States, along with American allies including Japan and Australia.

台湾台中——周二，台湾展示了其自主研发的无人机技术。与此同时，外界越来越担心中国威胁要动用武力来维护其对这个自治岛国的主权声索。

负责研发军事技术的国家中山科学技术研究院罕见地展示了旨在摧毁敌方雷达的“战翔”无人机和其他无人作战飞行器。

一辆卡车上装载着十二架一次性无人机，官方名称为巡飞弹。这些无人机由内置火箭发射，在撞击目标前由螺旋桨发动机进行制导。

2022年11月15日星期二，在台湾中部台中市的国立中山科技大学，一架无人机在向媒体成员进行演示时进行了飞行表演。（Walid Berrazeg/AP）

该研究所航空系统研究部主任迟立平表示，任何“对自己有信心”的国家都会制定战略并发展国防技术。

奇表示，无人作战飞行器是“未来的发展趋势”，“这就是为什么我们正在进行相关研究并制定一些战略的原因。”

台湾军方上个月开始接收从该研究所订购的100架直升机无人机中的首批。齐教授强调了这些无人机在向军队指挥通信系统传输图像以供分析并转发给作战部队方面的重要性。

台湾还研制出了腾云无人机，其外形与美国的MQ-9“死神”无人机相似，可以持续飞行长达24小时。

虽然美国和其他国家长期以来一直使用无人机打击所谓的恐怖分子和其他目标，但无人机在俄罗斯对乌克兰的战争中发挥了尤为重要的作用。莫斯科从伊朗进口无人机，而基辅则成功地使用了来自土耳其的廉价Bayraktar TB2无人机，这种无人机可以携带轻型激光制导炸弹。

与此同时，中国已大力推进自主无人机的研发，其中一些型号已经出口。

8月，为回应美国众议院议长南希·佩洛西访问台湾，中国加大了对台军事威胁力度。中国向台湾发射导弹，并在六个自行划定的区域举行实弹军事演习，这似乎是在为可能对台湾实施封锁和入侵进行演练。而此次演习几乎肯定会牵涉到台湾的主要支持者美国，以及包括日本和澳大利亚在内的美国盟友。