TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — As the Navy plans to procure more than 1,000 attack unmanned surface vessels within the next few years, military officials have pointed out that swarm capabilities are not fully developed yet.
Officials said that while constructing attack USV platforms themselves is relatively straightforward, systems integration is far more complex, Liberty Times reported. This includes the installation of high-performance explosives, integration of vessel guidance and control systems, command-and-control networks, and advanced AI mission technologies.
If the Navy commissioned the National Chung Shan Institute of Science and Technology to handle the project, the timeline could be shortened significantly, the officials said. Taiwan could complete and deploy a portion of the attack USVs with operational swarm-control capabilities by the end of 2027, they said.
The Navy expects bidding and prototype testing to take place in the second half of this year, with the first batch scheduled for delivery and acceptance in November 2027. It said its USV platform must have an operational range beyond 44 kilometers and be able to share battlefield information, support swarm tactics, and resist electronic interference.
The procurement program will be launched once the proposed special defense budget is approved by the legislature, per Liberty Times.
The program is divided into three phases. The first phase spans from 2027 to 2028 and focuses on integrating existing AI technologies and unmanned platforms to establish basic detection and assisted navigation capabilities. The second phase, from 2029 to 2030, focuses on 3D recognition technology and validation testing, enabling the development of more advanced systems adaptable to multiple maritime environments.
The third phase, from 2031 to 2033, will build on the AI 3D recognition technologies developed in the previous phase to strengthen swarm-control capabilities.
NCSIST is producing 1,320 Kuai Chi USVs for the Navy’s Coastal Combat Command, the Marine Corps, and the Army’s Special Forces Command over the next five years.
