Taiwan is moving swiftly to expand its long-range strike abilities with a new class of low-cost unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
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This comes as military planners seek affordable alternatives to expensive cruise missiles and Washington deepens cooperation with Taipei on drones and emerging technologies.
The urgency has grown since Beijing showcased cutting-edge uncrewed systems during its Victory Day parade at Tiananmen Square on Wednesday – platforms that analysts said mirrored or even surpassed the destructive drones being deployed in the Russia-Ukraine war.
At the centre of the island’s latest effort is its top weapons developer, the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST), which has partnered with US defence company Kratos to convert its jet-powered MQM-178 Firejet target drone into a long-range loitering munition dubbed the Chien Feng IV. The Firejet has long been used for missile defence training.
The collaboration was confirmed by Steve Fendley, president of Kratos’ Unmanned Systems Division. “Development started early this year and is progressing rapidly,” Fendley said in an interview with US online magazine The War Zone published last month. He declined to give details but acknowledged that the Chien Feng IV “is a derivative of the MQM-178 system”.
Taiwanese media reports citing unidentified NCSIST sources said the suicide drones had a range of at least 1,000km (620 miles), positioning them as a low-cost cruise missile capable of striking deep inside mainland China, including major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai.
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The system will debut at the Taipei Aerospace & Defence Technology Exhibition later this month, where further details are expected to be revealed, according to the reports.