Taiwanese vs. Chinese Drones – Who Comes Out on Top? – Part 2

China supports North Korea with New Star-4 production technology as needed

The New Star-4 acquires target information, mainly supporting anti-ship ballistic missiles within the jurisdiction of the Chinese Northern Theater. This arrangement benefits both China and North Korea, with information gathered by Chinese reconnaissance aircraft like the WZ-7 relayed to North Korean strategic forces, aiding in the targeting of various nuclear missile launch platforms. Given this collaborative dynamic, the tension felt by South Korean and U.S. authorities is understandable.

The Chinese military also has another high-altitude, long-duration unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, the Cai Hong-6 (CH-6). As the latest model in the drone series, it has a wingspan of 67.25 feet (20.5 m), a height of 16.4 feet (5 m), and can fly at a speed of 497 mph (800 km/h) up to a height of 39,370 feet (12 km). It is similar to the American Global Hawk in terms of high-altitude unmanned surveillance, but its distinguishing feature is that it can carry missiles and bombs to attack.

The Cai Hong-6 drone can perform various missions, including anti-submarine operations, maritime patrols, early warning, and close air support. With a maximum takeoff weight of 7.8 tons, it can cruise for up to 20 hours and carries payloads of up to 992 lbs (450 kg), including electro-optical systems, early warning radars, electronic reconnaissance systems, air-to-ground missiles, and bombs. Military experts say, “The biggest advantage of the Cai Hong-6 is that it is inexpensive compared to its high performance and can sortie frequently.”

In response to China, Taiwan’s military is accelerating the introduction of unmanned reconnaissance drones. To immediately counter China’s military threat, Taiwan’s military has increased its drone procurement budget for this year. According to Taiwanese media outlets like Liberty Times, Taiwan’s military has allocated a budget of 69.5363 billion Taiwan dollars (about 2.45 billion U.S. dollars) to purchase commercial-grade military drones.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense has increased its procurement budget for drones by 1.26565 billion Taiwan dollars (about 44.7 million U.S. dollars), bringing the total to 58.14545 billion Taiwan dollars (about 2.05 billion U.S. dollars). Reports from Taiwanese media indicate that bids have been launched for four types of drones, including surveillance and small-sized drones. Notably, the procurement budget for small drones saw the most significant increase, rising from 1.28391 billion Taiwan dollars (about 45.3 million U.S. dollars) to 3.12454 billion Taiwan dollars (about 110.4 million U.S. dollars).

Based on these amounts, the final purchase volume of commercial-grade military drones is estimated to reach around 3,600 units. The Liberty Times analyzed that the total budget, the army’s drone budget (566.59 million Taiwan dollars), and detailed item amounts will increase to 75.2023 billion Taiwan dollars (about 2.66 billion U.S. dollars).

The recent increase in Taiwan’s drone budget by the Ministry of Defense is viewed as an extension of its plan, submitted to the Legislative Yuan (Parliament) last August, to procure a total of 1,779 drones. This procurement plan allocates 392 droArmyfor the Army, 1,072 for the Navy, and 315 for the Air Force. Taiwanese media analysis suggests that Taiwan’s military is bolstering its surveillance and operational capabilities across all three forces in response to the growing threat posed by Chinese drones.

Taiwan’s military is expanding its drone capabilities primarily due to its recognition of unmanned reconnaissance aircraft as a significant advantage against the superior military might of China.

To Read Part 1…
To Read Part 3…