Could Taiwan’s new ‘high-low’ attack drone strategy counter mainland China’s arsenal?
Island’s Ukraine-inspired tactics will pair pricey cruise missiles with cheaper swarm-capable UAVs
Taiwan is moving swiftly to expand its long-range strike abilities with a new class of low-cost unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
This comes as military planners seek affordable alternatives to expensive cruise missiles and Washington deepens cooperation with Taipei on drones and emerging technologies.
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.
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.