DEFENSE/Newly acquired micro-drones make Han Kuang drills debut

Taipei, July 18 (CNA) Several newly deployed micro surveillance and reconnaissance drones have made their debut in the Han Kuang military exercises, Taiwan's military media reported Thursday.

Military quadcopters have been deployed during the Han Kuang exercises, running from July 9 through Friday. The Army uses them for reconnaissance and surveillance, the Navy for escorting minelaying missions and the Air Force to assist air defense, according to a Military News Agency (MNA) report released Thursday.

According to budget proposals from the Ministry of National Defense (MND), Taiwan's armed forces have allocated NT$1.28 billion (US$43.68 million) for 2024 and 2025 to purchase 1,458 domestically produced micro surveillance and reconnaissance drones.

Also on Thursday, a separate MNA report said Taiwan's Marine Corps 99th Brigade, originally based in southern Kaohsiung City, entered the Greater Taipei area and carried out a counterattack drill early that day.

Marine Corps troops drove HUMVEEs equipped with domestically made T-75S 20mm cannons and U.S.-imported MK19 40mm grenade launchers, simulating counterattacks against invading forces and patrolling the area to eliminate remaining threats, according to the MNA report.

According to the MND, this year's 10-day, nine-night Han Kuang exercises are twice as long as previous live-fire drills, which typically lasted five days and four nights.

Since 1984, the annual Han Kuang exercises have been Taiwan's largest war games, combining live-fire drills and tabletop simulations to test combat readiness against a potential Chinese invasion.

This year's tabletop war games were conducted from April 5 to 18.