Taiwan MND pursues multirotor UAV developments

The Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense Armaments Bureau’s (MND AB’s) Materiel Production Center (MPC) has announced that it is developing a new family of indigenous surveillance and weaponised multirotor unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to address potential tactical requirements by the Republic of China Army (RoCA).

Three new multirotor UAV prototypes – the UAV Forward Observation System, the UAV Patrolling System, and the Multi-Purpose Drone System – under development by the MPC’s 202nd and 205th Arsenals, were exhibited at the 2019 Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition (TADTE).

The trirotor UAV Forward Observation System is equipped with high-definition cameras and geolocation equipment to enhance the targeting accuracy of self-propelled mortar crews. (IHS Markit/Kelvin Wong)

The UAV Forward Observation System is being trialled by the Taipei-based 202nd Arsenal as an organic airborne surveillance and targeting capability for the next-generation 8×8 Cloud Leopard II M2 Mortar Carrier being evaluated for the RoCA.

The system comprises an expendable, compact trirotor UAV, equipped with a high-definition camera suite and a GPS tracker. When launched, the air vehicle will travel to an adversary’s last known or suspected location, where it will activate its tracker to generate precise GPS co-ordinates for the mortar’s fire-control system (FCS).

“The UAV is designed to relay the target’s co-ordinates and track its activities in real time to support the mortar crews in their firing preparations and to assess the tactical situation,” a 202nd Arsenal spokesperson told Jane’s . “This enables them to reduce observation time and increase first-round hit accuracy.”

“A vehicle will typically carry several of these UAVs as it will likely be a high-value target for the hostile force,” the spokesperson added.