The Army previously evaluated purchasing 30 "Attack Black Hawk Helicopters" from the United States, and at the same time, it will also modify the 30 "General Purpose Black Hawk Helicopters" currently in service to enhance its overall combat capabilities. The picture shows an attack Black Hawk helicopter launching an AGM-114 "Hellfire" anti-armor missile. (Picture: taken from Sekowsky’s website)
[Reporter Luo Tianbin/Reporting from Taipei] In the face of cross-strait tensions in recent years, in order to strengthen the Black Hawk helicopter air force that has been strained due to transfers, the Chinese Army has repeatedly reported that it is evaluating the purchase of 30 more "attack/armed Black Hawk helicopters", or the purchase of traditional armed kits to upgrade the current general-purpose Black Hawk. However, the U.S. military recently successfully tested Anduril's "Altius-700" series of drones in the air for the first time using a UH-60M "Black Hawk" helicopter, demonstrating a powerful "air launch effect" (A-LE). This technological breakthrough provides the Taiwan Army, which is thinking hard about how to improve its asymmetric combat power, with another new way of thinking about combat power transformation that is more in line with future combat needs and more cost-effective.
If the "traditionally armed Black Hawk" planned by the Army in the past and the emerging "universal Black Hawk equipped with Altius-700M drone" are placed at opposite ends of the balance, there are fundamental generational differences in the operational logic between the two. The traditional armed Black Hawk mainly relies on Hellfire missiles, rockets or cannons. Its essence is close-quarters combat "in the defense zone". On the contrary, the Black Hawk paired with an air-launched drone is a modern "outside zone" asymmetric tactic of "Manned-Unmanned Teaming" (MUM-T). The helicopter itself can return safely after releasing the drone a hundred kilometers away, and the drone can go deep into dangerous situations to charge into battle.
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The U.S. military successfully used UH-60M "Black Hawk" helicopters to launch Anduril's "Altius-700" series drones in the air and accurately hit the target. (Picture: taken from the video released by Anduril)
Judging from the battlefield environment and future combat needs faced by Taiwan, the technology-hopping solution of "universal Black Hawk + Altius-700M UAV" obviously has a better chance of winning than purchasing a traditional armed Black Hawk. The density of air defense threats in the Taiwan Strait during the war was extremely high. Whether it was the field air defense of the Communist landing ship group or the man-portable air defense missiles (MANPADS) on the beach, they were fatal threats to helicopters. The range of the armed Black Hawk when launching Hellfire missiles is only about 10 kilometers, which means the helicopter must fly to the front line and be exposed to enemy fire to guide the missiles; while the Altius-700M has a range of up to 160 kilometers. As long as the Black Hawk is released in the safe airspace protected by the central mountains of Taiwan's main island, it can hunt down the enemy in the middle line of the strait from a distance. The survival rate is very different.
In addition to battlefield survivability, tactical flexibility and cost are also the keys to winning in the drone mode. Purchasing a new dedicated attack helicopter often costs tens of billions of dollars, and maintenance costs are high. If the US military model is adopted, the national army's existing general-purpose Black Hawk can still perform troop transport, material supply and search and rescue missions in peacetime. In wartime, as long as an external weapon rack and a mission computer are installed, it can be transformed into an "air drone mothership" and a networked strike node in one second. This kind of "one machine with multiple functions" configuration not only greatly spreads the pressure on the defense budget, but also makes it more difficult for the enemy to understand our military's tactical intentions, truly achieving the effect of distributed killing.
Taiwan has officially signed an arms sales offer letter with the United States in August 2026 to purchase 1,554 Altius-700M anti-armor attack drones. Although the national army currently plans to prioritize the distribution of these drones to the ground forces of the army, the successful experience of the US military undoubtedly points to the direction of future upgrades. Rather than looking back to pursue traditional armed helicopters that are at risk of being shot down, the Army should look forward to battlefield trends in the next 20 years, invest resources in upgrading the software and hardware of the Black Hawk in service, and develop Taiwan's "air-launched drone" tactics. This not only maximizes the combat power of more than 1,500 drones, but is also the most cutting-edge scientific and technological solution to achieve decisive victory on the coast and resist enemies on the other side.
