ASYMMETRIC DEFENSE:
The Ministry of Nationwide Protection price range evaluation report this yr confirmed that it could additionally procure miniature, ship-based and surveillance drones
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By Aaron Tu
and Shelley Shan / Employees Reporters
The Ministry of Nationwide Protection (MND) plans this yr to acquire almost 1,000 drones geared up with synthetic intelligence (AI) and machine studying skills as a part of its efforts to bolster the navy’s fight capabilities, the ministry mentioned in a report delivered to the Legislative Yuan final week mentioned.
Minister of Nationwide Protection Wellington Koo (顧立雄) is in the present day to temporary lawmakers at a gathering of the legislature’s Overseas and Nationwide Protection Committee on particulars of the report on the implementation of the Sea-Air Fight Energy Enchancment Plan Buy (海空戰力提升計畫採購).
The ministry has included drone improvement as an essential a part of navy constructing plans after its huge utility was seen within the Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh final yr and Russia’s struggle in Ukraine which started in 2022.
Photograph: Taipei Occasions file
The Chungshan Institute of Science and Expertise, an organization that’s a part of the ministry’s Armaments Bureau, has been commissioned to analysis and develop medium and large-sized navy drones and assault drones with navy specs.
The ministry can also be working with personal contractors to develop industrial drones to be used by the navy.
The elevated use of drones on battlefields has proven their significance in fashionable warfare, the report says.
Apart from commissioning the Chungshan Institute and personal contractors to construct drones, the Armaments Bureau and the Ministry of Financial Affairs ought to talk about methods to shore up protection capabilities by integrating home sources and manufacturing capability, and eradicating affect from the Chinese language provide chain, it says.
The report says that the navy plans to amass 968 drones of seven differing kinds this yr, together with assault drones produced by the Chungshan Institute in addition to “second-generation short-range uncrewed aerial automobiles,” and “miniature,” “goal acquisition,” “service,” “surveillance” and “land” drones bought from personal contractors.
The report additionally says that the navy has taken AI and machine studying applied sciences into consideration when buying drones, comparable to these with “one-click takeoff,” “autonomous return,” “path planning flight,” “dynamic goal monitoring,” “coordinate distance calculation” and different capabilities to scale back operator load, flight dangers and enhance operational effectivity.
Rising AI applied sciences could be included in future improvement plans, it says.
The ministry’s price range evaluation report this yr confirmed that it could purchase “goal acquisition,” “miniature,” “ship-based,” “surveillance” and “land” industrial drones from this yr to 2027, which might improve its complete variety of drones to three,231.
The ministry’s price range plan additionally reveals that it’s procuring 201 new technology “short-range uncrewed aerial automobiles” collectively developed by the navy and personal contractors. No public knowledge on the entire variety of assault drones is out there.
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