U.S. senators see results of drone weapon tests in Taiwan

Taoyuan, March 30 (CNA) A bipartisan delegation of U.S. senators visited Taiwan's National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) on Monday, where they saw displays showing the results of a live-fire test of a drone-mounted warhead.

During the visit, the display of a 50-millimeter high-strength steel plate that was penetrated by a multipurpose warhead mounted on a Mighty Hornet IV drone in live-fire testing was exhibited publicly for the first time.

Jointly produced by the NCSIST and U.S.-based defense company Kratos, the Mighty Hornet IV is a repurposed Kratos MQM-178 target drone with a range of 1,000 kilometers.

The NCSIST also showed previously unveiled systems during the visit, including the Mighty Hornet II and Mighty Hornet III drones.

Before traveling in the afternoon to the NCSIST, the delegation met President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) at the Presidential Office on Monday morning.

The U.S. delegation, led by U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Democratic member Jeanne Shaheen and Republican Senator John Curtis, arrived in Taiwan early Monday aboard a U.S. military aircraft.

Other members of the delegation included U.S. Senate Taiwan Caucus co-chair Thom Tillis and Senator Jacky Rosen.