The National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) has publicly unveiled its Kestrel II anti-armor rocket, a domestically developed weapon designed to bolster Taiwan's asymmetric warfare and urban combat capabilities.
Since the reinstatement of one-year compulsory military service in 2024, all draftees must qualify on the Type 66 rocket launcher using sub-caliber training rounds, while anti-armor specialists receive additional training and live-fire qualification on the Kestrel system.
However, live-fire tests by the first cohort of conscripts drew criticism over the original Kestrel I's insufficient armor penetration. NCSIST responded by confirming development of the second-generation Kestrel II.
Nearly two years later, the upgraded system has emerged under notable circumstances. Lawmakers on the Legislative Yuan's Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee froze NT$200 million (approx. US$6.2 million) in funding and imposed four binding performance requirements: indoor firing capability, predictive line-of-sight (PLOS) aiming, tandem warhead design, and reduced weight.
NCSIST says it has met all four targets, producing what it claims is only the fourth anti-armor rocket system in the world capable of safe indoor firing.
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According to NCSIST specifications, the Kestrel II launcher has a 67 mm caliber, measures 110 cm in length and weighs 5.1 kg. The rocket itself is 67 cm long, weighs 1.66 kg, and has a muzzle velocity of 186 m/s, with a maximum range of 1,200 meters and an effective range of 220 meters. It is designed to penetrate 400 mm of mild steel or 270 mm of rolled homogeneous armor (RHA). A complete system costs approximately NT$100,000 (US$3,100).
The original Kestrel I faced criticism on multiple fronts: limited penetration compared with foreign counterparts, higher development costs, and — most critically — its inability to be fired from inside buildings. That shortcoming was especially significant for Taiwan's defense planning, where close-quarters urban combat is expected to play a central role. Sweden's AT4 had long set the benchmark for indoor-capable systems.
During an exclusive visit to NCSIST's Guangwu Campus — known locally as Taiwan's “missile mother house” — The Storm Media inspected the Kestrel II firsthand. Though perceptible in weight when shouldered, the disposable single-shot launcher's compact design makes it well suited to “shoot-and-scoot” tactics in urban warfare.
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NCSIST has also developed a virtual reality training simulator for the Kestrel II, allowing soldiers to rehearse engagement scenarios before handling live rounds.
The Storm Media tested the system directly. While initial accuracy required adjustment, hit rates improved substantially after several repetitions — suggesting soldiers can achieve reliable results with adequate training.
The Kestrel II joins a very short list as the world's fourth anti-armor weapon system capable of indoor firing. The other three are Sweden's AT4, France's APILAS, and Sweden's Carl Gustaf — the last of which is technically a recoilless rifle rather than a rocket, though it shares the indoor-capable characteristic.
Given the significant technical challenges and the classified nature of the engineering approaches used in those foreign systems, NCSIST's achievement represents a notable milestone for Taiwan's defense industry.
Kestrel II Rocket Doubles Armor Penetration and Cuts Launcher Weight
The most consequential upgrade over the Kestrel I is armor penetration. The original system was rated for roughly 270 mm RHA; the Kestrel II is rated for 500 mm. In demonstrations witnessed by The Storm Media, test rounds had already penetrated 670 mm of RHA — effectively doubling the predecessor's performance.
NCSIST engineer Hung Shih-kai (洪士凱) said the launcher weighed 7.6 kg at the start of development. Through iterative material testing and simulation, the team reduced it to under 4 kg. In April 2025, the combined tube-and-round assembly passed tolerance testing.
Engineers also incorporated a flow-deflector design inspired by the APILAS. After simulation-based verification, a revised geometry reduced overall system length from 119 cm to 116 cm, improving portability for troops in the field.
The modular sighting system now includes PLOS graduation markings calibrated for 200 to 500 meters, with moving-target verification completed in March 2025. It also features a quick-detach Picatinny-compatible rail, allowing soldiers to rapidly swap in a thermal night-vision device for around-the-clock operations.
How NCSIST Solved Indoor Firing for Taiwan Kestrel II Rocket
Development was far from straightforward, according to Huang Chih-ching (黃志清), chief engineer at NCSIST's Systems Manufacturing Center.
The project was funded entirely through NCSIST's own institutional research budget as an innovation initiative, using the Kestrel I as its design baseline. The two primary goals were weight reduction and PLOS integration — but the indoor firing requirement introduced an entirely different set of hazards.
Firing in an enclosed space generates severe backblast, reflected shockwaves, and dangerous spikes in overpressure, temperature, and acoustic energy — all capable of seriously injuring the operator. The solution NCSIST developed is a proprietary “suppression mechanism assembly” that applies a counter-mass principle to neutralize rearward blast forces.
Early assumptions proved badly wrong.
“We initially thought a silencer would be enough,” Huang said. “It turned out that was not the case at all. A silencer only reduces sound — it does nothing to suppress the blast. Fragments were still scattering rearward.”
The team eventually recognized that noise reduction and blast suppression are entirely different problems, and redirected its efforts accordingly. The characteristic large cloud of white smoke produced when the Kestrel II fires indoors is a byproduct of the vaporization process used to dissipate the reaction force. The current design emerged through iterative testing and adjustment until it met established safety standards.
Advanced Composite Materials Lighten and Strengthen Kestrel II Rocket
The Kestrel II's aft section features a composite material resembling fiberglass — noticeably more refined in finish than conventional munitions.
Huang explained the design rationale: the forward section houses the shaped charge, the mid-section contains the warhead that produces the high-explosive effect on impact, and the aft section is the flight vehicle. That rear portion must contain propellant while withstanding the thermal and pressure loads of launch — a structural challenge that demands both strength and low weight simultaneously.
To meet both requirements, NCSIST used an inner aluminum alloy structure reinforced with composite materials, achieving the necessary structural strength without the mass penalty of a purely metallic design.
The distinction from the Kestrel I and Type 66 is straightforward: both predecessors used plain aluminum alloy throughout. Scaling up all-aluminum components would have added too much weight and compromised flight performance — making the Kestrel II's composite reinforcement a deliberate solution to that trade-off.
Kestrel II Rocket: Indoor and Outdoor Variants for Urban Warfare
The Kestrel II is being fielded in two variants, both sharing the same warhead and propulsion system — 91 propellant grain columns, compared with 37 in the Kestrel I and just 19 in the Type 66.
The outdoor model omits the suppression assembly to remain more compact, relying on standard backblast-area safety procedures. The indoor variant incorporates the assembly specifically for urban warfare environments. Combat effectiveness is identical across both configurations.
Huang noted that the propellant columns represent the primary cost driver, and that unit cost is expected to fall once volume production begins.
The outdoor variant is scheduled for initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E) in the first half of 2026, with the indoor version to follow by year-end. NCSIST has briefed the Army, Marine Corps, and Military Police on the system.
Taiwan Army Cautious on Kestrel II Rocket as Marine Corps Shows Interest
According to sources familiar with the briefings, the Army has responded cautiously, with some officials concerned that the indoor variant remains too bulky for practical field use. The Marine Corps, by contrast, has shown considerable enthusiasm — particularly toward the outdoor model.
The mixed reception carries a certain irony. Taiwan's defense establishment has repeatedly invoked indigenous weapons development as a national priority, most recently in the context of a special defense budget. Yet now that NCSIST has delivered what it describes as the world's fourth indoor-capable anti-armor rocket, at least one service appears inclined to look toward established foreign alternatives.
Whether the Kestrel II enters service will ultimately depend on each branch's individual operational assessments — but the gap between the rhetoric of self-reliance and the instincts of military procurement, it seems, has not yet closed.
