(PatriotWise.com) — Taiwan’s military is taking a page from Ukraine’s playbook and is developing unmanned boats that could be used to repel a possible invasion by China.
The vessels, sometimes called Kamikaze boats, developed by CITIC Shipbuilding are 55-foot-long unmanned vessels with a top speed of more than 30 knots and a range of more than 300 miles.
CITIC’s USV (unmanned surface vessel) was unveiled earlier this month when government officials attended the christening of new manned vessels, including a frigate, at CITIC’s shipyard.
Ukraine has had great success over the past year, sinking multiple Russian ships in the Black Sea by using remote-controlled, unmanned surface vessels.
CITIC president Han Bixiang told Taiwan’s Liberty Times that the company was “ahead of schedule” in developing its unmanned vessels.
During the June 2 christening ceremony, the shipbuilder displayed a prototype of its all-black Kamikaze unmanned vessel, which is capable of sailing “autonomously” without communication equipment or GPS. The vessel then uses computer calculations to return to port.
The CITIC USV can be used in multiple ways, including laying mines, minesweeping, and even kamikaze attacks.
Taiwan’s planned USVs fit with the military’s Overal Defense Concept (ODF) doctrine that was developed by former Chief of Defense Staff Adm. Lee His-ming, which calls for thousands of one-way drones, unmanned naval vessels, missile boats, fast-attack vessels, and mine layers to fight a prolonged war using a multi-layered attrition campaign.
Last November, the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology introduced an unmanned vessel it hoped to move into mass production by 2026. The vessel is similar in design to a speed boat and is described as a “target ship system.”
In the early spring, Taiwan’s military confirmed that it was considering purchasing 200 of these unmanned vessels after seeing how effective USVs had been for Ukraine.
Pentagon officials have said that in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, the US would deploy what it described as a “hellscape” strategy, with thousands of unmanned surface and underwater vessels along with aerial drones to swarm the region to allow Taiwan and its partners the time to launch a response.
Copyright 2024, PatriotWise.com
