[Reuters]
[Reuters]

Taiwan's fixed anti-drone defense network, built to protect air force bases, has been found unable to detect new types of Chinese military drones.

The South China Morning Post reported Sunday, citing a Taiwan Board of Audit and Inspection report, that the drone defense project contains significant flaws. The system was developed by the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST), Taiwan's leading weapons development agency, to protect air force bases and key military facilities. The project was valued at 3.55 billion Taiwan dollars (about 157.3 billion won).

The audit report said the system cannot detect or jam the 5.1-gigahertz frequency used by new drone models operated by China's People's Liberation Army. It also found the system unable to counter certain bands of China's BeiDou-3 satellite navigation system. Countermeasures against fiber-optic-guided drones and AI-guided drones were found to be minimal or nonexistent.

Taiwan's English-language Taipei Times reported July 26, citing the same audit report, that China began developing drones operating on the 5.1-GHz band in 2023 after the 2.4-GHz and 5.8-GHz bands became congested with drone traffic.

Taiwan Defense Ministry spokesperson Sun Li-fang said NCSIST had already confirmed jamming capability against the new frequency and would add that function through future system upgrades.

The Defense Ministry said many of the technologies cited in the audit had emerged after the project began in 2021, and added that it was accelerating development of next-generation capabilities to counter fiber-optic-guided and AI-guided drones.

Luo Ching-sheng, executive director of the Taiwan Institute of Strategic Studies, called the ministry's explanation "deeply disappointing."

"This project has only just been completed, yet there is no explanation at all of when actual upgrades will take place," Luo said. "What happens if the PLA launches an attack before then?"

A separate Taiwan Army procurement program for 26 fixed anti-drone systems was scrapped last month. That project had been valued at 980 million Taiwan dollars. The Defense Post, a US military affairs outlet, reported July 20 that Taiwan's authorities were pursuing contract termination after the equipment failed to meet military performance standards on three separate occasions.

Ma Wen-chun, a lawmaker from Taiwan's main opposition Kuomintang party, said equipment was being purchased far too often before its performance had been sufficiently verified.


dbsdn1110@heraldcorp.com