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BackTaichung Mayor Lu Xiuyan criticized the lack of drone test sites in central China and urged the central government to approve the establishment of additional drone testing grounds.
Taichung Mayor Lu Xiuyan criticized the lack of drone test sites in central China and urged the central government to approve the establishment of additional drone testing grounds.
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自由时报52 minutes agoPolitics2 min readChinaView original

Taichung Mayor Lu Xiuyan criticized the lack of drone test sites in central China and urged the central government to approve the establishment of additional drone testing grounds.

dronetest flight groundLu Xiuyan

Quick Look

  • In an interview before the city council meeting, Taichung Mayor Lu Xiuyan pointed out that although the central region is a center for drone R&D and manufacturing, it lacks test flight sites, forcing operators to go to Chiayi and Kaohsiung for testing, which delays development.
  • She called on the central government to consult and approve the establishment of more drone test sites in central China as soon as possible to enhance national defense independence and industrial competitiveness.

AI-generated summary

Why It Matters

Taichung Mayor Lu Xiuyan has long advocated the development of the drone industry and believes that it is important to both national defense and the economy. The recent successful test flight of the U.S. Air Force's MQ-9B drone in Hualien has triggered discussions on the distribution of domestic test flight sites.

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The MQ-9B drone developed by the U.S. Air Force made its first test flight in Hualien as exclusively reported by this newspaper. During an interview before presiding over a city meeting, Taichung Mayor Lu Hsiu-yan said that her voice was a bit broken and she had to speak again because she was cautious in speaking or emotionally affected. Lu Hsiu-yan criticized the lack of a test flight ground in the central region. UAV manufacturers have to go to Chiayi and Kaohsiung for test flights, and the back and forth is not enough for the country's needs.

The MQ-9B drone used by the U.S. Air Force is known as the "Reaper". It is the world's first armed drone designed for long-term high-altitude reconnaissance. Before Lu Xiuyan presided over a municipal meeting today (15th), the media asked her opinion on the first batch of two MQ-9Bs that made their first flight in Hualien yesterday.

Please read on...

Lu Xiuyan said that she has long advocated that the country should have a drone industry and development, including national defense and economic development. Both parts are very important. Yesterday, I saw the arrival of the two MQ-9Bs and the successful test flight. "I will say it again, my voice is a bit broken."

Lu Xiuyan said that the central region is the largest ready-made research and development, production and manufacturing site for drones. However, the central region lacks a test flight ground. The next large-scale production of the National Protector Mountain requires test flights. However, the national drone test flight sites are only approved in Chiayi and Kaohsiung. The manufacturers in the central region must transport them to the south after they are built, and then come back to modify them if there are problems, back and forth.

Lu Xiuyan said that test flight sites will delay the independent development needs of UAV policy, industry, and national defense. She hopes that the central government will consult and approve the establishment of more UAV test flight sites in the central region as soon as possible. If Taiwan wants to develop independent UAVs for national defense, it will not only be established in the central region, but also in the northern and Zhuke areas with production capacity.

Open Questions

  • Will the central government approve the establishment of a new drone test ground in central China?
  • Which specific locations in the central region have been evaluated as suitable for setting up test flight sites?
  • How much improvement will the increase in test flight sites bring to the UAV industry chain and national defense independence?

Related Topics

drone
PeopleLu Xiuyan
OrganizationsTaichung City GovernmentUnited States Air Force
PlacesHualienTaichung CityChiayikaohsiung
Topicstest flight groundLu XiuyanTaichung CityMQ-9BNational defense independenceindustrial development
This article was originally published by 自由时报.

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