Berliner Boersenzeitung - Taiwan students design drones for mock battle, as China threat looms

EUR -
AED 3.865039
AFN 71.961868
ALL 97.885367
AMD 409.705534
ANG 1.898038
AOA 960.733931
ARS 1055.061215
AUD 1.613881
AWG 1.894109
AZN 1.787029
BAM 1.951539
BBD 2.126437
BDT 125.855234
BGN 1.956342
BHD 0.396578
BIF 3110.579445
BMD 1.052283
BND 1.414399
BOB 7.293078
BRL 6.086683
BSD 1.053191
BTN 88.848028
BWP 14.387453
BYN 3.446543
BYR 20624.740218
BZD 2.122845
CAD 1.469502
CDF 3014.78969
CHF 0.929776
CLF 0.037101
CLP 1023.776253
CNY 7.619996
CNH 7.625593
COP 4626.455438
CRC 534.824751
CUC 1.052283
CUP 27.885491
CVE 110.024795
CZK 25.350861
DJF 187.538784
DKK 7.458788
DOP 63.520417
DZD 140.573397
EGP 52.274979
ERN 15.78424
ETB 131.306162
FJD 2.388363
FKP 0.830585
GBP 0.832524
GEL 2.883571
GGP 0.830585
GHS 16.7185
GIP 0.830585
GMD 74.71233
GNF 9078.051459
GTQ 8.13025
GYD 220.338958
HKD 8.189863
HNL 26.613518
HRK 7.506205
HTG 138.346648
HUF 411.186809
IDR 16734.714279
ILS 3.929639
IMP 0.830585
INR 88.911049
IQD 1379.588093
IRR 44293.214291
ISK 145.520299
JEP 0.830585
JMD 166.933965
JOD 0.746386
JPY 162.676061
KES 136.007134
KGS 91.02957
KHR 4249.68174
KMF 491.94202
KPW 947.053999
KRW 1471.222726
KWD 0.323672
KYD 0.877684
KZT 523.167824
LAK 23125.51255
LBP 94319.785398
LKR 306.411046
LRD 190.622024
LSL 19.101997
LTL 3.107117
LVL 0.636515
LYD 5.138732
MAD 10.521031
MDL 19.167154
MGA 4930.189594
MKD 61.546561
MMK 3417.773046
MNT 3575.656436
MOP 8.443666
MRU 41.866002
MUR 48.839087
MVR 16.268296
MWK 1826.195708
MXN 21.380416
MYR 4.698412
MZN 67.293799
NAD 19.101997
NGN 1768.455747
NIO 38.755022
NOK 11.613586
NPR 142.154623
NZD 1.792324
OMR 0.40513
PAB 1.053101
PEN 3.996674
PGK 4.239684
PHP 62.126243
PKR 292.773138
PLN 4.342422
PYG 8247.914831
QAR 3.840515
RON 4.977085
RSD 117.020141
RUB 106.281009
RWF 1452.315514
SAR 3.95054
SBD 8.79238
SCR 14.332083
SDG 632.944958
SEK 11.610939
SGD 1.413951
SHP 0.830585
SLE 23.75528
SLL 22065.84631
SOS 601.88026
SRD 37.282669
STD 21780.126598
SVC 9.214882
SYP 2643.891613
SZL 19.091139
THB 36.458458
TJS 11.216013
TMT 3.682989
TND 3.324243
TOP 2.464553
TRY 36.27081
TTD 7.130433
TWD 34.270209
TZS 2791.031424
UAH 43.426878
UGX 3886.514989
USD 1.052283
UYU 45.021709
UZS 13526.469111
VES 48.861031
VND 26751.65603
VUV 124.929112
WST 2.937543
XAF 654.521833
XAG 0.033884
XAU 0.000395
XCD 2.843846
XDR 0.801343
XOF 654.521833
XPF 119.331742
YER 262.991742
ZAR 19.064031
ZMK 9471.810193
ZMW 29.146091
ZWL 338.834589
  • RIO

    -0.3450

    62.045

    -0.56%

  • CMSC

    0.1200

    24.64

    +0.49%

  • BCE

    -0.4500

    26.55

    -1.69%

  • RBGPF

    -0.5000

    59.69

    -0.84%

  • NGG

    -0.4700

    62.8

    -0.75%

  • GSK

    -0.1650

    33.185

    -0.5%

  • RELX

    0.2750

    45.385

    +0.61%

  • BTI

    -0.2500

    36.83

    -0.68%

  • CMSD

    0.0950

    24.355

    +0.39%

  • JRI

    0.0360

    13.266

    +0.27%

  • BCC

    1.9700

    139.38

    +1.41%

  • SCS

    0.0750

    13.145

    +0.57%

  • RYCEF

    0.1900

    6.8

    +2.79%

  • AZN

    0.3950

    63.595

    +0.62%

  • VOD

    -0.1300

    8.81

    -1.48%

  • BP

    0.2500

    29.33

    +0.85%

Taiwan students design drones for mock battle, as China threat looms
Taiwan students design drones for mock battle, as China threat looms / Photo: I-Hwa CHENG - AFP

Taiwan students design drones for mock battle, as China threat looms

At a drone testing field in southwestern Taiwan, university students watch anxiously as unmanned aerial vehicles they designed take off, land and, occasionally, crash in a simulated battlefield scenario.

Text size:

They are taking part in a competition that is helping Taiwan's efforts to boost domestic drone production.

With Beijing sustaining military pressure on the island, Taipei is ramping up investment in unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, as it seeks to bolster a more agile defence against a potential Chinese attack.

Both Ukraine and Russia have used UAVs extensively throughout their conflict, for surveillance and striking targets deep behind frontlines.

The UAVs flying in the National Defense Application UAV Challenge could potentially be adopted by drone companies and procured by the government.

"We can see drone applications in many current conflicts happening around the world said competition organiser Jan Shau-Shiun, a professor in the space systems engineering department at National Cheng Kung University.

"Taiwan is in a position where we may also face such an issue, so based on this theme, we aim to strengthen our drone capabilities."

China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has refused to renounce the use of force to bring it under its control.

Now in its second year, the competition was held over two days last month at the Asia UAV AI Innovation Application R&D Center in Chiayi county.

Twenty teams from across Taiwan gathered to put their drones to the test. The field will be whittled down to a shortlist this month for another challenge before the winner is declared next year.

Multi-rotor and fixed-wing drones were required to fly autonomously to a height of at least 60 metres (around 200 feet), take images of a remote target, and return to base within 10 minutes.

To make the scenario more realistic -- and difficult -- organisers this year used a jammer to disrupt satellite signals to the UAVs, making it harder for them to stay airborne.

"From observing the war in Ukraine and other conflicts, we can see that there's often interference on the GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) before any fighting," said Jan.

- 'Hands-on skills' -

After spending countless hours designing and building their drones, with help from local drone or electronic component companies, teams watched nervously as their UAVs took flight.

Some drones failed to reach the required height or crashed due to the jamming.

Cheng Yong-jen, 24, breathed a sigh of relief after the drone he helped design ascended, soared into the distance and safely returned.

"It crashed, we repaired, it crashed again and we repaired again," said Cheng, a graduate student from National Formosa University.

"When the drone finally descended, I was in tears."

Lin Chun-Liang, lead judge and professor in electrical engineering at National Chung Hsing University, said the competition helped students develop "hands-on skills" not taught in schools.

Taiwan is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to buy and develop drones, and also nurture local talent to work in the sector, as it races to upgrade its military capabilities.

President Lai Ching-te has pledged to make Taiwan "the Asian hub of unmanned aerial vehicle supply chains".

Keeping workers in the industry, however, is a challenge in Taiwan where the huge semiconductor sector can offer higher salaries to top graduates.

Cheng said he planned to join a drone company after finishing his master's thesis on defence drones, insisting "this is the path we must take".

"We cannot stop moving forward just because we are behind others," said Cheng.

(U.Gruber--BBZ)