President Lai Qingde presided over the "Groundbreaking Ceremony of the Minxiong Aerospace and UAV Industrial Park of the National Sun Yat-sen Institute of Science and the Opening Ceremony of the Minxiong Campus." The back of the factory was filled with rows of drones. On the rear right is the Ruiyuan II drone waiting to be assembled. On the rear left is the orange-red painted drone, not the Kingbee IV drone, but the "Tiancheng target drone" that is indispensable for national military training. (Photo: Provided by Military News Agency)
[Reporter Luo Tianbin/Taipei Report] President Lai Qingde personally went to Chiayi on September 28 to preside over the opening of the Minxiong Campus of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the groundbreaking ceremony of the UAV Industrial Park. When inspecting the medium and large UAV system integration test shed factory, there are several unmanned aerial vehicles with bright "orange-red paint" neatly arranged in the factory. Because the color is so eye-catching, at first glance they are quite similar to the latest "Jeremorne 4" tactical drones. However, after careful comparison, these mysterious red vehicles are actually "Tiancheng target drones" that are indispensable for the national military training.
This "Tiancheng Target Drone" manufactured by the National Sun Yat-sen Academy of Sciences is essentially an aerial target. It plays the role of "imaginary enemy" in the daily training of the national army, specifically used to simulate enemy fighter planes, cruise missiles or drones. Whether it is the air force's fighter planes shooting in the air or the air defense force's missile tracking verification, this target aircraft must be relied on to guide the way in order to effectively evaluate the interception accuracy of domestically made or purchased weapon systems. It can be said that he is an unsung hero who silently builds the national army's solid air defense capabilities behind the scenes.
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The picture shows the drone target service business contracted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. (Picture: taken from the website of the Chinese Academy of Sciences)
As for why this drone adopts such a high-profile orange-red paint? Experts explained that this is entirely for practical needs during training. The highly conspicuous red color can help ground air defense forces make optical observation or visual capture easier. According to the plan of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in addition to being used as a target for shooting exercises, this Tiancheng target drone will also have smarter uses in the future. The military is considering adding electronic equipment or signal boosters to the target aircraft to make it look like a physical main fighter aircraft on the radar screen. It can then transform into an "electronic warfare decoy" during wartime, successfully decoying and consuming enemy anti-aircraft missiles.
The Minxiong campus that President Lai visited this time is an important base for Taiwan’s national drone team. The Minxiong Campus of the Chinese Academy of Sciences will focus on the research and development, testing, verification and mass production of drones in the future, and the Tiancheng target drone made a grand appearance in the new integrated test shed factory. It is the Chinese Academy of Sciences that shows the Chinese people that Taiwan already has the complete production capacity of "full-scale national defense independence." This batch of red drones not only showcases research and development technology, but also symbolizes the maturity of Taiwan’s drone industry.
President Lai also emphasized at the ceremony that Taiwan should actively promote becoming the Asian center for the democratic supply chain of drones. With the opening of Minxiong Campus and the investment of additional national defense budget in the future, Taiwan's drone development will gradually expand from "asymmetric warfare" military defense to global industrial links. This unexpected and beautiful misunderstanding of the Tiancheng drone not only successfully created a topic, but also allowed the Chinese people to see the brilliant achievements of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in the field of drones for many years.
