TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s second generation Albatross drone, developed by the National Chung Shan Institute of Technology (NCSIST), will be unveiled at the 2023 Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition (TADTE) in September, Geostat Aerospace and Technology Chairman Lo Cheng-fang (羅正方) said on Monday (March 20).

The process of system adjustments and testing is mostly complete, with only some modifications left, Lo said. NCSIST is confident mass production of the drone can start in 2023, Liberty Times cited.

For the first version of the Albatross, Geostat was responsible for some of the maintenance and repair duties, but for the second-generation drone, the company is in charge of manufacturing and assembly, the chairman said.

Lo said that Geostat was lucky to be considered by NCSIST for mass-production duties and that the government chose Geostat because of its solid track record.

The new Albatross drone has a range of 250 km and an increased payload capacity. It will mainly be used for reconnaissance and target acquisition missions but can carry out offshore strikes if necessary. The drones can be outfitted with 2.75-inch diameter rockets.

In August 2022, Taiwan opened a research and development center for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in Chiayi as part of an effort to boost its asymmetric warfare capabilities.

The new facility explores AI technologies to incorporate into its indigenously-built drones, bolstering Taiwan’s defense supply chain. It will also serve to drive local economic growth through industry clustering.