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Inspired by Ukraine, Taiwan plans fleet of sea drones

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Taiwan's navy is dwarfed by that of China

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Taiwan military modernising to fight "asymmetric warfare"

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China would have to cross Taiwan Strait to invade the

island

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China has stepped up military pressure against democratic

Taiwan

By Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard

WUSHI, Taiwan, June 13 (Reuters) - Just off the small

Taiwan fishing port of Wushi on its Pacific coast, a Taiwanese

company is testing what could eventually be a powerful but

unglamorous new weapon in the island's military arsenal - sea

drones.

Used to great effect by Ukraine in the Black Sea against

Russia, Taiwan is learning lessons on how it could use sea

drones as an effective and low-cost way to fend off any possible

Chinese invasion. These drones are uncrewed, remotely controlled

small vessels that are packed with explosives and can be guided

toward ships or potentially even attack targets in the air.

Pushed by the United States, Taiwan has been working to

transform its armed forces to be able to wage "asymmetric

warfare", using mobile, smaller and often cheaper weapons which

still pack a targeted punch, like sea drones.

"Uncrewed boats or vehicles have played a very significant

role in the Ukraine war," Chen Kuan-ting, a lawmaker for

Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) who sits on

parliament's foreign affairs and defence committee, told

Reuters.

"Uncrewed vehicles, whether they are boats or underwater

vehicles, can effectively deter China because Taiwan is not the

attacking side, we are the defending side," he said.

Taiwan's defence ministry's research and development arm,

the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, has

termed the sea drone plan the "Swift and Sudden" project, which

so far has a modest budget of around T$800 million ($26.77

million).

Defence Minister Wellington Koo said on Wednesday sea drones

would be included in an additional spending package to be

unveiled later this year. Details of that special budget have

yet to be announced.

William Chen, chairman of the Thunder Tiger company, told

Reuters last week on a boat off Wushi while viewing a test of

their SeaShark 800 sea drone, which can carry 1,200 kg (2,600

lbs) of explosives and travel up to 500 km (310 miles), that

these new weapons present an element of surprise for China.

"We can create uncertainty. We can fill the Taiwan Strait

with danger and risks. No one knows where these dangers could

surface," Chen added.

SEA DRONE SHOW

Next week, Thunder Tiger will be among 12 Taiwanese and

foreign companies joining an exhibition just down the coast from

Wushi arranged by the defence ministry to showcase unmanned

surface vehicles that may end up being added to Taiwan's

arsenal.

Other companies taking part, according to the ministry,

include Taiwan navy contractor Lungteh Shipbuilding

and U.S. military shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries ( HII )

.

"Drones is a top priority for both the United States and

Taiwan. Obviously the conflict in Ukraine is focusing minds on

what the next generation of warfare will look like," said Rupert

Hammond-Chambers, president of the U.S.-Taiwan Business Council,

who is leading a U.S. defence industry delegation to Taiwan this

week, including drone makers.

China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own

territory and has ramped up its military pressure over the past

five years, including staging half a dozen rounds of war games.

Taiwan's government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Taiwan has been

studying how Ukraine has deployed drones to successfully offset

Russia's advantage on the battlefield and has enlisted

commercial drone companies, including Thunder Tiger, to help.

Ukraine has deployed sea drones not only to attack ships in

Russia's Black Sea fleet, but also to shoot down aircraft.

Taiwan's navy is dwarfed by that of China with its aircraft

carriers and ballistic missile submarines, though the country

lacks recent combat experience.

China's last successful large-scale amphibious assault was

in 1950 when it seized Hainan island at the tail end of the

Chinese civil war, with troops ferried across on junks.

Peter Chen, a drone expert and executive director of Taiwan

security think tank TTRDA, said Taiwan can undoubtedly make

world-class sea drones.

"But when it comes to the application, how to turn them into

top-notch weapons, it is not the responsibility of private

companies. The views of government and the military on how to

properly integrate the weapons into the battle strategy, that

needs more thinking," he said.