Taiwan's military exercise entered its third day on January 29, with the Navy taking center stage in demonstrations that included the first public demonstration of the domestically-developedChien Feng attack drone.
However, the debut took an embarrassing turn when the drone crashed immediately after launch, prompting one observer to quip that "even a middle school student's water rocket would fly farther."
The incident highlights ongoing challenges in Taiwan's domestic defense technology development as the island seeks to bolster its asymmetric warfare capabilities against potential Chinese aggression.
According to official specifications, theChien Feng attack drone can fly at 50 knots with a control range of approximately 8 kilometers, a flight duration of 15 minutes, an altitude ceiling of 150 meters, and employs tube-launched deployment without recovery capabilities. The drone features targeted guidance and mission pre-planning navigation abilities, equipped with electro-optical and infrared cameras.
Held at the Taoziyuan Beach in the southern city of Kaoshiung, the exercises focused on coastal defenses against a simulated amphibious invasion. Military planners designed the demonstration to showcase jointdefense operations combining coastal strike systems and drones into effective kill chains.
During the exercises, Marine Corps surveillance drones first identified enemy targets before the Chien Feng was deployed. However, when the attack drone launched, it immediately crashed into the beach sand after flying only approximately 100 meters. Military officials quickly conducted a second launch attempt, which completed its mission without incident.
The National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, or NCSIST, attributed the failure to a malfunction in the wing control and pledged to continue improving the relevant hardware. The Marine Corps subsequently fired a replacement round from land, followed by another launch from a naval vessel, both successfully striking sea-based ball targets with confirmed detonations.
