TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Air Force Chief of Staff General Tsao Chin-ping announced Wednesday (May 8) that the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) has developed a stationary drone defense system that has met required effects and functions in tests.
The Foreign and National Defense Committee is handling budget freeze cases for the Ministry of National Defense (MND) and other departments. The budget freeze cases for the National Security Bureau, Overseas Community Affairs Council, and Veterans Affairs Council have all been lifted. However, 11 cases for the MND and one for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs remain frozen.
Kuomintang (KMT) legislators have raised doubts about the budget thaw for the drone countermeasure system, demanding the military provide a clear explanation of the drone defense system's operational status.
The drone defense system includes four sets of early warning radars, two sets of passive detection systems, and two sets of optoelectronic target acquisition systems. The entire system is integrated from the control console.
KMT Legislator Hsu Chiao-hsin opposes the budget thaw. She pointed out that the budget freeze case was proposed by the previous legislature, and the MND knew it would be reviewed by the new legislature. If the MND believes the budget thaw is important and not doing so would cause problems, it should have explained in advance to the current legislature.
In the absence of consensus among legislators on the budget thaw, the meeting chair, Democratic Progressive Party Foreign and National Defense Committee Convener Wang Ting-yu, ruled that the budgets for the Army, Navy, Air Force, and drone and drone countermeasure system purchases remain frozen, pending explanations from relevant units.