Taiwan starts testing second generation drone as it seeks to bolster defensive abilities
- A military source says the military has been testing the Teng Yun 2’s long-range abilities and will move on to combat testing later
- The island’s leader Tsai Ing-wen has called for more development work after seeing how effective UAVs have proved in Ukraine
The National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, the island’s top weapon maker, has been testing the medium and long-range flight capabilities of the Teng Yun 2 (Cloudrider) in the past two weeks.
“Test items include how far the prototype of the second-generation drone can go and how long it can last,” said a source close to the matter.
The source said the drone took off from the air force’s Chiashan base in the eastern county of Hualien and flew over the sea for close to three hours, meeting the basic flight capability requirements of the defence ministry.
“Optical performance, command and control as well as other features, including the surveillance capability of the drone, were also tested” the source said.
The source said the institute was expected to start combat tests on the drone next month and hopes that it will be able to form a combat squadron alongside MQ-9B Sea Guardians.
