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| Chien Hsiang, Taiwan's Mainstay Radar Destroyer Local Kamikaze Drone |
Taipei - Taiwan is a country that has been able to develop locally made kamikaze drones. The manufacture of loitering munitions by their defense industry was motivated by the situation in which Taiwan faced a powerful enemy, China.
Chien Hsiang is the kamikaze drone in question. The prototype was first shown to the public in 2017. Chien Hsiang's drone was launched from a truck-mounted rack. This is reminiscent of the Iranian-made Shahed-136 drone which was also launched from a drone warehouse shelf.
Not long ago, Chien Hsiang was shown again at a drone exhibition organized by the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST). Chien Hsiang was specially designed as an anti-radiation kamikaze drone to destroy enemy radars positioned at sea, on the beach, or inland, according to the NCSIST.
However, this drone is also capable of attacking unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that do not emit electromagnetic waves.
Local media Focus Taiwan quoted The Drive as writing, Chien Hsiang is capable of flying for five hours and can engage targets as far as 621 miles (1,000 km). As with roaming ammunition, Chien Hsiang can wander through the air to then attack his target. This drone will make a downward swooping motion at a speed of 600 km/hour when it has caught its target.
Chien Hsiang can also be used as decoy and could potentially be equipped with an electronic warfare package for stand-in jamming of enemy emitters. Many consider Chien Hsiang to be very similar in form and function to Israel's IAI Harpy. However, the NCSIST says that all things can happen due to chance.