TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The military has finished distributing anti-drone guns to its troops to improve defense against unmanned aerial vehicles.

The systems are used concurrently with light weapons, according to a Legislative Yuan policy report. There are also plans to integrate a line-of-sight UAV countermeasure system with functions such as active warning, passive detection, and interference, Liberty Times reported.

The defense ministry approved a US$146 million (NT$4.58 billion) budget in 2022 to buy the drone defense systems, which will be deployed at 45 military bases across Taiwan between 2022 and 2026.

The military continues to utilize joint intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) to provide early warning capabilities and closely monitor China’s military activities around Taiwan, the report added. To counter Beijing's cyberattacks, Taiwan is also strengthening its command-and-control resilience, it said.

Taiwan is currently integrating military-civilian technology to develop new electronic warfare systems. Through inter-agency intelligence exchanges and joint cybersecurity exercises, it seeks to enhance overall network defense and cybersecurity capabilities.

The mass deployment of anti-drone systems comes nearly two years after Taiwanese soldiers stationed at Kinmen’s Lieyu Garrison Battalion were captured on video throwing rocks at a civilian drone. The drone flew over the waters off the coast of Lieyu Township but did not enter the military outpost’s airspace.