DEFENSE/Taiwan's military releases footage of under-development suicide drone

Taipei, Aug. 15 (CNA) Taiwan's military on Thursday released rare footage of an under-development suicide drone.

The clip released by the defense ministry-run Military News Agency shows a quadcopter, or quadrotor, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operated by a soldier via remote control destroying a car and a ship by crashing into them.

A voiceover accompanying the footage states: "The armed forces are actively working closely with domestic and international partners to develop small UAVs to meet the nation's defensive needs."

"Via military exercises, these UAVs are being tested to prove their excellent capabilities and the results of training," the narrator says, adding that "in the future, [the armed forces] will be working with domestic UAV supply chain to construct reliable defensive capabilities [for the nation]."

A source told CNA that the suicide drone shown in the video footage is still under development by Taiwan's Navy and has not been officially commissioned.

The 30-second clip of the suicide drone is part of over seven minutes of footage that the Military News Agency filmed on several rounds of live-fire exercises testing the precision shooting capabilities of its missiles and rockets conducted this April.