Taiwan To Receive 720 Switchblade Missile Drones From US New Weapons Sales

UNSPLASH/Aaron Burden ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - Taiwan will receive 720 Switchblade missiles and a firing control system worth US$60.2 million, according to a release from the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA).

The US will also provide Taiwan up to 291 Altius 600M ammunition and its supporting components for 300 million US dollars, DSCA said.

The sales proposal comes as China increases military pressure on Taiwan, with intensive military exercises around it and fighter aircraft flights nearly daily near the island.

The ruling Chinese Communist Party claims democratic Taiwan as its own, although it has never mastered it, and vowed to'reunicate' with the island, if necessary with violence.

Under the Taiwan Relations Act, Washington is legally required to provide defense facilities for Taiwan and supply defense weapons to Taiwan.

However, the sale of the weapon received a warning from Beijing.

In a speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue Defense Summit in Singapore earlier this month, Chinese Defense Minister Admiral Dong Jun criticized the outer interference force' for selling weapons and making illegal official contacts' with Taiwan, which appears to refer to the US.

Switchblade, which looks like a tiny drone winged, is a lightweight and inexpensive precision guided missile that can be launched from multiple platforms within two minutes, remains flying for 20 minutes and with a range of 30 kilometers (18.6 miles).

AeroVironment producers say its products have demonstrated good performance in Ukraine's defenses against Russia's ongoing invasion.

"We are satisfied with the many inputs from users and requests for additional systems," said company CEO Wahid Nawabi in a April post on the AeroVironment website.

Meanwhile, the larger Altius 600M can carry "some search and warhead options" when launched from its land, air and sea platforms, producer Anduril said on its website.

Both drones can also be used for reconnaissance.

In a statement on Wednesday, June 19, reported by CNN, Taiwan's presidential office thanked the US for its security commitments, adding that this is the 15th arms sale the Biden administration has made to the island since 2021.

"Taiwan will continue to strengthen our self-defense capabilities and asymmetric warfare to improve our deterrence," said presidential office spokesman Karen Kuo.

"We will firmly maintain our constitutional democratic system and freedom, and we will work closely with countries that have similar ideals to maintain a rule-based international order."

The image shown by the US Marine Corps shows the Switchblade 300 10C drone system being used as part of a drill at the Marine Corps Marine Corps Air Defense Center Twentynine Palms, California, on September 24, 2021. Corporal Alexis Moradian said

The United States has approved the sale of more than 1,000 small armed drones to Taiwan worth 360 million US dollars, as the island with a self-governing claimed by China aims to strengthen its asymmetric warfare capabilities by taking into account the tactics successfully used on the battlefield in Ukraine.