Lai urges quick drone budget approval

Taiwan cannot afford delays in acquiring critical defense capabilities, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, calling on the legislature to approve the government’s new special budget for drones. The nation cannot stint on defense spending amid the mounting threat from China, he told a news conference following an inspection of the state-run National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (NCIST) in Taichung. The legislature’s decision to slash NT$470 billion (US$14.56 billion) from the administration’s NT$1.25 trillion special defense proposal in May has left the military with barely enough funds to procure US arms and none for developing uncrewed systems, he said. Photo: Liao Yao-tung, Taipei Times “Drones proved their value as the quintessential asymmetric warfare capability in recent conflicts, such as the Ukraine-Russian war, Israel-Arab conflicts and the US-Iran war,” Lai said. The Executive Yuan has proposed a new NT$210 billion special allocation to obtain domestically manufactured military uncrewed systems, but opposition lawmakers continue to withhold their support, he said. The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party’s decision to designate the Ministry of Economic Affairs as the agency in charge of developing drones is misguided, Lai said, adding that the Ministry of National Defense (MND) is the legally and professionally appropriate agency to handle combat drone research and development. The government earmarked NT$44.2 billion to boost domestic industries and supply chains six years ago, making the opposition parties’ proposals to funnel more money for the same purpose redundant, he said. “It is my sincere hope that the Legislative Yuan would stand by the nation and help MND officials and military service members do their jobs, and not waste their time in legislative chambers,” Lai said. “Political strife cannot be avoided in a democratic system, but acts that jeopardize national interest and the lives and property of Taiwanese are out of bounds.” Taiwan’s drone industry’s technology is globally competitive, the military’s uncrewed system formations are fully staffed, and the only component missing is the resources that lawmakers failed to approve, he said. The legislature should pass drone allocations as a special budget instead of as part of the annual budget, as the latter would jeopardize the government’s ability to sustain its investments in force-building, Lai said. Separately, the NCIST during a hearing on Thursday at the Legislative Yuan detailed its research and development programs to lawmakers. The loitering munition Mighty Hornet I has the capability to strike moving land and sea targets, significantly boosting its lethality in coastal defense operations, NCIST officials said. The platform’s cost per unit is less than NT$2 million, allowing deployment in large numbers, and 95 percent of its components are sourced domestically, they said, adding that the navy received 150 systems and would receive another 150 in the second half of the year. The Mighty Hornet III is an anti-armor platform that features long loiter time, non-Chinese supply chains and low cost, they said. The Mighty Hornet IV is a high-speed, low-cost anti-radiation uncrewed aerial vehicle based on a reconfigured MQM178Q Firejet target drone, the officials said. The institute has also developed a portable simulator for firing Stinger air defense systems that would aid infantry training, they added. Typhoon Bavi lashed Taiwan yesterday, injuring 113 people, prompting the evacuation of 14,605 residents and knocking out power in 234,481 households, the government said. Most of the injuries were due to people falling off motorcycles or bicycles due to strong winds and slippery roads, and others occurred during the typhoon preparations, Central Emergency Operations Center (CEOC) data as of 8pm yesterday showed. No fatalities or severe injuries had been reported as of press time last night. Due to flooding and landslide risks, 14,605 people had been evacuated nationwide, led by 5,182 people in Hualien County, 2,096 in Taichung, 1,700 in New Taipei, Taiwan and the US have agreed to jointly produce the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST)-developed Chien Feng I (勁蜂一型, Mighty Hornet I) drone, a high-level government official familiar with the matter said. The Mighty Hornet I, which is in service with the Marine Corps, has passed live-fire tests, including being launched from fast-moving surface ships, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Under the collaboration — which must still undergo a national security review and receive budget approval from the legislature — Taiwan and the US would jointly produce the attack drone, while the US would APPLICATIONS: The robots are capable of disaster and firefighting response, autonomous navigation, swarm operations as well as underground tunnel inspections, the ministry said The Ministry of Economic Affairs is working with the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) and industry partners to create a homegrown program to develop four-legged robots to tap into the US$4 billion global robot dog market. The initiative aims to leverage Taiwan’s strengths in information and communications technology, semiconductors and precision machinery to build indigenous technologies and a non-China supply chain, the ministry said. Technology is evolving from robotic arms to wheeled, quadruped and humanoid robots with autonomous mobility capabilities, it said. Driven by rapid advancements in generative artificial intelligence (AI), visual recognition, sensors and high-performance computing, robots are now capable of CROSS-SERVICE: The exercise focuses on integrating the capabilities of separate military branches, improving joint operations and testing decentralized command structures The military yesterday began a joint defense exercise featuring Marine Corps units mobilizing to reinforce the Taipei metropolitan area. The five-day exercise simulates scenarios including the detection of hostile vessels entering Taiwan’s territorial waters, focusing on integrating the capabilities of the separate military branches and improving joint operations, testing decentralized command structures, and command-and-control mechanisms. A key component of the exercise involved Marine Corps units conducting mobile reinforcement operations, with dozens of military vehicles, including trucks, field ambulances and communications vehicles deploying from southern Taiwan to Taipei’s Nangang District (南港) and New Taipei City’s Sijhih District (汐止) to establish temporary command posts