Drones key in Taiwan attack: expert

DRONE FUTURE:
China’s low cost and efficient drones would be key in a potential attack on Taiwan, former army commander-in-chief general Hu Chen-pu said

If China were to invade Taiwan, it would likely attack by mainly using drones, which have become the face of modern warfare due to their low cost, high efficiency and ability to minimize casualties, former army commander-in-chief general Hu Chen-pu (胡鎮埔) said yesterday.

Hu, head of the Taiwan Association for Strategic Assessment, made the remarks at a seminar hosted by the association in Taipei that addressed the threats to Taiwan’s security posed by Chinese military drones.

The ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia has put drones at the forefront of modern warfare, Hu said.

China has been developing drones at a fast pace in the past few years, and has amassed numerous military drones, which it began using to circle Taiwan a few months ago, he said, adding that the drones that China flew around Taiwan all had combat and reconnaissance capabilities.

Noting that drones are relatively low cost, highly efficient and do not cause any casualties to the user’s side, Hu said that if China were to invade Taiwan, drones would be its primary weapons of choice.

Ou Si-fu (歐錫富), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said China has been regularly employing drones in its military activities since September last year.

The models it has typically used have included ASN drones used by the Chinese People’s Liberation (PLA) and Army Rocket Force, the BZK-005 drone used by the navy, the GJ-1 and WZ-7 drones used by the air force, and the JWP-02 drones used by the Army Rocket Force, he added.

Drones have surveillance, reconnaissance, deception and strike capabilities, and have become ubiquitous in modern warfare, he said.

As China is not part of the Missile Technology Control Regime, it has established itself as a major drone supplier, which is something the world should pay close attention to, he said.

Drones have been widely incorporated in combat beyond the range of target acquisition, hence the nickname “eyes in the sky,” Lo Cheng-fang (羅正方), CEO of Geosat Aerospace & Technology Inc said at the seminar.

Drones with combat and reconnaissance capabilities are to be the focus of Taiwan’s domestic drone development over the next five years, he said.

The Chien Hsiang anti-radiation loitering munitions developed by the state-run weapons developer Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology would be a formidable deterrence in electronic warfare, he added.