◎ Zaimi
On the evening of September 8, a drone appeared near Taichung Qingquangang Airport. The Air Force suspended takeoffs and landings for about 25 minutes, affecting 2 civilian aircraft and 8 military aircraft. The National Sun Yat-sen Institute of Science later stated that the Qingquangang UAV countermeasures system was still under construction and had not been completed for acceptance and activation. This incident reminded the National Defense Forces of a fact that is often concealed by procurement figures: just because the equipment is handed over does not mean that the combat capability is in place.
The U.S.-made Altius-600M multi-purpose tactical drone is delivered with 100% power, but the main equipment arrives first and the support system arrives later, resulting in a time lag in forming combat capabilities. The picture shows the ALTIUS-600M attack drone. (Taken from Anduril company website)
The same problem also occurs with the ALTIUS-600M attack drone. The Army confirmed that the original charger was not included in the U.S. price offer because it involved Chinese-made components. The original manufacturer has completed the development of the non-red supply chain charger and will deliver it as scheduled. The Army stated that the ALTIUS-600M is 100% powered when delivered, but if the equipment requires repeated training, testing and maintenance, chargers, batteries, spare parts and maintenance are part of the combat capability. The main equipment arrives first and the support system arrives later, so there is a time lag in forming combat power.
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Personnel is also an integral part of combat effectiveness. This year, the Ministry of National Defense relaxed the qualifications for reserve soldiers to shoot rifles. 35 people from the first rank of the Taichung Reserve Brigade participated and fired 48 rounds with a T91 combat rifle in half a day. This is a positive change, and it also shows that reserve combat strength cannot only be based on the number of people on the roster, but how many people can continue to return to training, become familiar with weapons, and quickly resume operations after being reconvened. If the equipment arrives, but the people are not yet proficient, the combat power is still incomplete.
The Department of Defense this year relaxed the qualifications for reserve service members to volunteer to shoot rifles, indicating that reserve forces can quickly resume operations after reconvening. In the picture, the caller is holding a T65K2 rifle and shooting. (Taken from the official Facebook of the Ministry of Defense Spokesperson)
The easiest things to display for national defense and army building are budgets, purchase quantities, and delivery photos; what really determines combat effectiveness is acceptance, integration, maintenance, supplies, and proficiency. The Ministry of National Defense has also listed "mass-produced, maintainable, and scalable" as the direction of unmanned system integration. These requirements should fall into every military purchase and training, not just in policy documents.
Assessing combat readiness should not only ask "how much has been purchased", but also "how much is available for immediate use", "how long it will take to replenish and repair", "how many qualified operators are there", and "whether the countermeasure system has been accepted and can operate cooperatively". If any link is not in place, the book numbers cannot be equal to the actual combat power. What the defense budget really needs to check is not how long the purchase order is, but how much equipment actually works and how many people actually use it when the alarm goes off.
(The author is a retired person)
