Senior Taiwan official attends MQ-9B delivery ceremony in U.S.

Taipei, March 22 (CNA) Taiwanese officials attended a ceremony last week to mark the delivery of the first two of four MQ-9B SkyGuardian drones Taipei purchased from the United States, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) announced Sunday.

A delegation led by Vice Defense Minister Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) and joined by Taiwan's Representative to the United States Alexander Yui (俞大㵢) attended the ceremony on March 17, according to an MND statement.

The ministry did not disclose the ceremony's location.

The MND thanked the U.S. government and the drone manufacturer, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., for facilitating the delivery, and said it would continue to work closely with Washington to ensure delivery of the remaining drones on schedule.

According to the MND, Taiwan has ordered four MQ-9B surveillance drones from the U.S., with deliveries scheduled in two batches of two in 2026 and 2027.

Hsieh Pei-shiue (謝沛學), an assistant research fellow at the MND-funded think tank Institute for National Defense and Security Research, wrote in 2020, when the U.S. first approved the sale, that the drone is capable of linking to satellite communications shared among U.S. allies.

This means Taiwan and its U.S. counterparts could instantly share battlefield intelligence, creating opportunities for cooperation during a conflict.

The MND's announcement came one day after it said the same group of Taiwanese officials had been shown the first of 66 F-16V fighter jets purchased by Taiwan from the U.S. on March 16.

The aircraft has completed an initial flight test and is expected to be delivered later this year.