Taiwan Announces Making of Truck-Launched Suicide Drones by 2025

The Taiwanese military has collaborated with a state-run weapons developer to assemble 104 suicide drones by 2025, the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) official stated.

According to the news, NCSIST official Chi Li-ping mentioned that the production and delivery of drones are on schedule. However, he did not reveal how many truck-launched suicide drones the military has ordered. The National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology first exhibited the Chien Hsiang anti-radiation drone in the year 2017, drawing comparisons with the Israel Aerospace Industries' Harpy anti-radiation weapon system. In 2019, the Taiwanese military revealed its plans to invest US$80 billion in New Taiwan dollars (US$2.57 billion) in drone development over five years. The military had also revealed that the cost of building an anti-radiation UAV would be lower than that for the TC-2A anti-radiation missile, or US-made AGM-88A/B HARM anti-radiation missile.

The truck-launched drones are designed to detect airborne, waterborne, grounded radar, and electromagnetic systems through their emissions and strike. Chi revealed that the anti-radiation suicide drone had a maximum flight time of over five hours and is capable to strike targets 1,000 km away. He further said that its range makes it capable to target seaborne, coastal, and inland Chinese radar systems. According to Alert 5, the drone weighs around 6 kgs i.e. 13 pounds and is 1.2 meters (4 feet) long, and has a width of 2 meters (6.56 feet). It observes the target with an electro-optical or infrared payload and selects them with the help of an 'intelligence object detection system'. According to reports, the drone hovers over a target for several hours until it is activated, swooping down at a speed of 600 km (373 miles) per hour to crash into it. Chi thinks that it is feasible to deploy 12-drone clusters of the Chien Hsiang, which can take flight without a runway.