TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s Second Theater of Operations will establish two drone units in Taitung and Hualien to respond to changing warfare trends.
The Taitung Area Command will disband and reorganize its armored cavalry company, which had primarily focused on intelligence gathering and reconnaissance, to form a drone squadron, Liberty Times reported. Its tanks, armored infantry fighting vehicles, and reconnaissance vehicles will be reassigned to a newly established combined arms battalion.
The Hualien Defense Command will also establish a drone squadron while retaining its armored cavalry companies because of defense requirements at the Air Force’s Chiashan base. Military officials said the two armored cavalry companies primarily conduct reconnaissance and security training during peacetime, according to Liberty Times.
In wartime, these units scout enemy positions and track their movements, as well as provide rear security for friendly forces.
The decision to form the drone units comes as China has converted more than 500 retired J-6 fighter jets into J-6W attack drones. The converted aircraft have been deployed at six air bases near the Taiwan Strait and could be used to overwhelm Taiwan’s air defense systems through saturation attacks, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council warned Monday.
