Military drones are expected to take off and land in Yilan! The national army invested 990 million to build a new base in Hongchai Forest

The national army will build a drone take-off and landing site in Yilan Hongchai Forest. The picture shows the Navy's "Ruiyuan II" drone. (File photo, provided by Carbon-based Technology)

[Reporter Tu Jumin/Taipei Report] In recent years, the Chinese Communist Party has continued to dispatch military aircraft and warships to harass the sea and airspace around Taiwan. Eastern Taiwan has also become an important area for the Chinese military to strengthen maritime surveillance and reconnaissance. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget for next year, the Navy plans to invest 991,596,000 yuan to build a new UAV take-off and landing site at Hongchailin Camp in Yilan. It is expected to be completed in 2030 to strengthen UAV take-off and landing, maintenance and combat support facilities in the northeast, while also taking into account the need to preserve combat power during wartime.

According to the budget document, the Navy plans to implement the "New UAV Take-off and Landing Site Project in Hongchailin Camp" from 2027 to 2030, building a take-off and landing runway, an operation platform, a combat readiness building, a UAV assembly and testing factory (aircraft maintenance shed factory), a garage and a generator room, a total of 6 facilities. In 2027, NT$6.755 million will be allocated for the first time to handle preliminary planning and project management. From 2028, planning, design and construction projects will be gradually handled, and acceptance is expected to be completed in 2030.

Hongchailin Camp is located in Sanxing Township, Yilan County. (File photo)

It is worth noting that the budget document clearly states that the purpose of the new take-off and landing site is to "shorten the voyage and increase the time for air reconnaissance," so that the navy can quickly grasp the dynamics of the sea area and respond to gray zone harassment by the Communist army and joint maritime military operations. In the future, it will also support joint sea control operations, identify targets and immediately provide the information required for fire strikes, and can be used as an evacuation site to preserve the combat power of drones during wartime.

Currently, the National Army has the Taitung Taimari UAV Flying Field in eastern Taiwan, which has been used by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the military to conduct testing and training of Ruiyuan Type 1 and Type 2 UAVs. Taitung Zhihang Base also has a public military drone training route, and the National Army UAVs also have records of taking off and landing at the Air Force Hualien Base. In contrast, Yilan currently has no public information showing that it has a dedicated take-off and landing site for naval tactical drones. The new Hongchailin project will increase drone reconnaissance and ground support facilities in the northeastern waters.

In addition, as the Chinese Communist Party's aircraft, fleets and military aircraft continue to operate in the sea and airspace around eastern Taiwan, the Navy established a coastal combat command in July this year to integrate shore-based anti-ship missiles, maritime surveillance and drone units, and plans to purchase 32 Ruiyuan II drones to strengthen maritime target search, identification and strike intelligence transmission. The sea area surveillance and target identification tasks planned for the Hongchailin landing site also echo the tasks of the Littoral Combat Command to integrate reconnaissance and sea control firepower.