TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Air Force is assessing a possible procurement of the domestically developed Teng Yun 2 drone after it passed operational testing.
The aircraft was displayed alongside other indigenous unmanned systems during President Lai Ching-te's (賴清德) inspection of drone research and development projects at the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology on Friday, per Liberty Times. Lai urged continued support for Taiwan's drone development policy during the visit.
The Teng Yun 2 is an upgraded version of the Teng Yun I designed for long-range, long-duration missions. A new propulsion system and other improvements addressed limitations in the early prototype's payload capacity, endurance, and flight performance.
After continued upgrades and testing, the Teng Yun 2 now better meets service requirements, prompting the Air Force to consider launching a procurement program, Liberty Times reported. If approved, it would conduct extended intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions around the Taiwan Strait alongside four US-made MQ-9B drones scheduled for delivery between this year and next year.
The number of Teng Yun 2 drones to be purchased, the budget, and the procurement timeline have not yet been finalized and remain under Air Force review. The NCSIST is also conducting research and development on an electronic warfare variant of the drone.
