Taiwan's drone defense system, established to protect key military facilities such as air bases, has been found inadequate in detecting or disrupting new Chinese drones.
According to a recent report from Taiwan's Audit Office, cited by the South China Morning Post on August 16, the government has invested NT$35.5 billion (approximately US$1.57 billion) in a fixed drone defense system that has revealed several vulnerabilities.
Developed by Taiwan's National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST), the system has been unable to detect or jam drones operating on the 5.1 gigahertz (GHz) frequency, which China began using in 2023.
Additionally, some frequencies of China's BeiDou satellite navigation system are not included in the jamming targets. This raises concerns about Taiwan's ability to respond effectively if the Chinese military employs BeiDou for drone operations.
There are also limitations in responding to drones controlled via fiber optic cables or those utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) for autonomous flight. The current system primarily disrupts communications between drones and their operators, making it less effective against these newer drone technologies.
Project timelines have also faced setbacks. Delays in construction and issues with procuring key components have pushed back the installation and testing of some systems by 6 to 12 months compared to initial plans. The Audit Office has warned that this could create gaps in the defense of critical military facilities.
The Taiwan Ministry of National Defense acknowledged that new drone technologies have rapidly emerged since the project began. NCSIST stated that it has already developed technology to jam the 5.1 GHz frequency and plans to enhance the system's capabilities. They are also working on next-generation equipment to counter fiber optic and AI-controlled drones.
This is not the first issue with Taiwan's drone defense systems. A separate project to introduce 26 fixed drone defense systems, valued at NT$9.88 billion (approximately US$430 million), was terminated last month after the equipment failed to pass performance tests three times.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.