A cross-party legislative delegation’s US visit underscored the era of uncrewed and autonomous warfare, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) said yesterday.
The delegation, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), returned to Taiwan on Saturday evening after a six-day visit to the US.
In meetings with US officials, members of the US Congress, think tanks and industry representatives, there was broad consensus that “the battlefield of the future has entered the era of uncrewed platforms and autonomous systems,” Chen said.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Kuan-ting speaks in an undated photograph.
Photo courtesy of Chen’s office
The priority is not to simply purchase individual weapons systems, but to develop a comprehensive uncrewed warfare ecosystem encompassing artificial intelligence, autonomous control, software, mass production capabilities, training, and the ability to integrate crewed and uncrewed platforms in combat operations, he said.
Chen is scheduled to lead a legislative delegation to inspect the army’s Uncrewed Systems Training Command today.
The aim of the visit is to gain a comprehensive understanding of the nation’s uncrewed capabilities, including force planning, training, operational deployment and logistics support, he said.
The delegation also hopes to assess the challenges the military faces in areas such as manpower, training capacity, mass production and procurement, he added.
Chen said he hoped the inspection would give lawmakers a clearer picture of the military’s progress in developing uncrewed capabilities and its operational requirements.
The findings would help inform the legislature’s review of defense budgets, legislation and related policies, he said, adding that the goal is to accelerate Taiwan’s development of a comprehensive, resilient uncrewed warfare capability, and further bolster its asymmetric defense strategy and indigenous defense capabilities.
