Taiwan Plans $312 Million Anti-Drone System Acquisition

The Taiwan Ministry of National Defense has proposed a significant program to enhance its capabilities against uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs). The initiative, valued at NT$9.67 billion (approximately US$312.4 million), aims to acquire 635 lightweight anti-drone systems over the next three years. These systems are designed to take control of, jam, and spoof the GPS data of hostile drones.

The draft proposal is still pending finalization and requires approval from the legislature before moving forward. According to the ministry, these anti-drone systems must possess the ability to passively detect more than 10 targets within a 4 km radius, with an imagery refresh rate exceeding one second. Additionally, they will need to engage drones operating on frequencies between 433 megahertz and 5.8 gigahertz at a distance of up to 2 km.

The specifications also state that the systems must be compact enough to be transported on light vehicles, including tactical and civilian options, as well as small boats. Setup should take no longer than 15 minutes with one or two operators. The military expects the first batch of 242 systems to be delivered within 180 days of contract notification, followed by a second batch of 393 systems after passing performance tests.

Distribution and Funding Details

The proposed distribution of the systems includes 242 systems for the army, 213 systems for the navy, 72 systems for the air force, and 108 systems for the Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command. Funding for this initiative will come from annual special budgets allocated for the years 2027 and 2028.

Despite the ambitious plans, some experts have raised concerns regarding the effectiveness of the proposed counter-UAV program. An anonymous source criticized the ministry for potentially underestimating the challenges posed by drone warfare. They noted that the systems, as currently specified, would not provide adequate detection and engagement ranges to maintain a continuous defensive perimeter or to counter drone swarms effectively.

The source further indicated that reliance on “cybertakeover” capabilities and GPS spoofing assumes that operators have already compromised the command signals used by enemy drones. If faced with drones utilizing unknown command frequencies or sophisticated encryption systems, these countermeasures would likely prove ineffective.

Expert Recommendations

To enhance the effectiveness of the anti-drone systems, the military should focus on ensuring cost-effectiveness while allocating sufficient resources toward developing advanced algorithms. These algorithms would be essential for rapidly defeating enemy encryption systems and for maintaining an up-to-date library of enemy UAV signals. This approach is critical if cybertakeover and GPS spoofing are to remain viable countermeasures against hostile drones.

As Taiwan bolsters its defense against emerging aerial threats, the proposed acquisition of anti-drone systems reflects a proactive stance in modern warfare. However, addressing the concerns highlighted by experts will be crucial to ensure the program’s success and effectiveness in real-world scenarios.