Defending Taiwan: Drones and Asymmetric Warfare
Taiwan's military is increasingly turning to drones as it looks to boost its asymmetric warfare capabilities.
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00:00 Almost a year ago, Taiwan's military made history by using this drone helicopter for
00:06 the first time in a military exercise.
00:10 The drone provides ground troops with information from above and helps soldiers become more
00:15 aware of the battlefield.
00:17 Even though the aircraft was only used briefly, it signaled a new era in Taiwan's military
00:22 strategy as it looks to prepare for a possible conflict with China.
00:28 I think the way we're seeing that in terms of both the future of warfare and particularly
00:33 when you're on the strategic defense like Taiwan is moving towards larger numbers of
00:38 lower cost uncrewed systems.
00:40 Outnumbered, outgunned and faced with growing threats from Beijing, the military here is
00:45 moving towards an asymmetric defense strategy and putting a greater emphasis on technology
00:50 to close that gap.
00:53 Strategic capabilities usually refer to especially land-based systems because of their mobility,
01:00 systems that have a small logistics footprint that is harder for China to target and also
01:07 sort of unmanned systems.
01:10 China boasts the world's largest navy and threatens to invade Taiwan to enforce its
01:14 claims over the country.
01:16 That's why Taiwan is going all out to develop what it calls a drone fleet, mass producing
01:21 a variety of unmanned systems to boost its defense.
01:26 The Ukrainians did this with drones in the black sea.
01:29 They've been using drones very, very well to spot for their ground-based anti-ship systems.
01:38 Ukraine's use of drones to get an overhead view of the battlefield and attack Russian
01:42 positions has highlighted the advantages of using drones.
01:46 Taiwan is following suit.
01:48 At one of Taiwan's largest weapons expos, new kamikaze drones took center stage and
01:54 showed off the country's progress.
01:57 They're much cheaper than traditional missiles and by swarming an enemy with dozens of these
02:01 aircraft they're much more likely to hit their target.
02:05 But analysts say that Taiwan would need thousands of these drones to create an effective defense.
02:10 And with more drones from countries like the U.S. on the way, analysts say that the military
02:15 will need to properly train its troops on how to use these systems.
02:18 Well, I think the war in Ukraine has taught us many lessons, but one of those lessons
02:24 is that you can have a lot of fancy stuff, but if your troops are not adequately trained
02:28 to use it, you're not going to have the success that you expect.
02:33 Taiwan says that more than 100 of these kamikaze drones will be built by 2025.
02:37 And the military is hoping to incorporate more unmanned systems into its exercises in
02:43 the coming years as it prepares for the future of warfare.
02:47 Devin Thai and Jaime O'Connor for Taiwan Plus.
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