TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense (MND) is building up its fleet of UAVs as it consolidates the Navy’s Hai Feng Shore Based Anti-ship Missile Group into its planned Sea Control Missile Command. 

In recent years, MND has been committed to developing a variety of UAVs to enhance combat capabilities. Once the Sea Control Missile Command is established, land-based surveillance UAVs will play a crucial role in providing intelligence data to be used by mobile missile launchers for coastal strike operations, per Liberty Times.   

The new missile command headquarters will be located in Yunlin County’s Huwei Township, where it will oversee four major strike groups in northern, central, southern, and eastern Taiwan, to defend Taiwan’s coastline.

The plan is part of the military’s preparations for continuous production and phased delivery of Hsiung Feng II, Hsiung Feng III, and extended-range Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missiles, along with the purchase of 100 Harpoon Coastal Defense System Launcher Transporter Units from the U.S. and 400 Harpoon missiles. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of this year.