TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan on Thursday conducted its first live-fire exercise of the Altius-600M loitering munition, coinciding with news that the Trump administration has approved a major new arms package involving the system.
The Trump administration informed the US Congress of eight arms sales packages to Taiwan worth a record NT$350.3 billion (US$11.11 billion). The deals include the sale of Altius-700M and Altius-600 systems valued at NT$34.72 (US$1.1 billion), per Army Recognition.
Defense Minister Wellington Koo (顧立雄), accompanied by Army Commander General Lu Kun-hsiu (呂坤修), inspected the live-fire exercise in the morning, the Ministry of National Defense said. Koo received mission briefings, reviewed firing results, and praised service members for their training efforts while urging them to continue strengthening combat readiness.
The exercise was conducted near the Zhuoshui River by the Unmanned Aircraft System Training Center and multiple artillery command units. It assessed unit operating procedures and overall command-and-control effectiveness.
Performance tests were first carried out using a training aircraft to confirm the safety of the firing airspace and target-area conditions. Live munitions were then employed to verify personnel proficiency in equipment operation and troubleshooting, as well as system integration with command and control.
The Altius-600M can be launched from land, sea, and air platforms and has an endurance of up to four hours and a range of 440 kilometers, per CNA. It is capable of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions, communications relay, and electronic warfare operations.
The system is recoverable and reusable, but can also be fitted with a high-explosive warhead to strike armored vehicles. It is regarded as one of the most advanced loitering munitions currently in service.
The strike-oriented Altius-700M is a heavy loitering munition equipped with an anti-armor warhead weighing about 15 kilograms, per Army Recognition. Built on a 17.78-cm-diameter airframe, it offers approximately 75 minutes of endurance and a range of about 160 kilometers for long-range precision strikes.
The Altius-700M supports canister launch from land- and sea-based platforms and can also be deployed from airborne assets. This allows for flexible employment across joint and distributed operations.
