Taiwan's MQ-9 Reaper Drone Clone To Counter China's Air Incursions

A made-in-Taiwan clone of the U.S. Air Force's MQ-9 Reaper drone has set a new flight record in its quest to counter China's near-daily air incursions around the island.

The unmanned aerial vehicle known as Teng Yun 2, developed by state-owned defense contractor the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, recently completed a 20-hour flight in Taiwan's air defense identiication zone, doubling its prevous milestone, the Liberty Times newspaper said on Sunday.

An ADIZ is a self-declared buffer in international airspace—also used by neighboring China, Japan and South Korea—in which transiting planes, especially military aircraft, are expected to identifity themselves. Chinese warplanes have been flying into Taiwan's air defense zone in record-breaking numbers for over three years.

The so-called "gray zone" tactic against Taipei, which rejects Beijing's long-running territorial claim to Taiwan, aims to exhaust the island's outnumbered defenders while striking fear into its public. The homemade Teng Yun 2, however, could conceivably alleviate some of the intensifying pressure.

Defense analysts in Taiwan have highlighted the drone's potential for extended surveillance missions in the hotly contested Taiwan Strait, which the Chinese military would be expected to cross in any future campaign to capture and occupy the island of 23.5 million people.

In June 2022, the Teng Yun 2 drone, whose name means "cloud rider," traced Taiwan's ADIZ in a non-stop flight from Chiashan Air Force Base in eastern Hualien county that lasted 10 hours. It was the first sign of the UAV's endurance.

Its latest 20-hour flight showcased its ability to patrol and monitor the island's surrounding airspace for nearly an entire day. That job currently falls to Taiwan's U.S.-trained air force pilots, who are highly skilled but relatively limited in number compared to their Chinese counterparts.

Taiwan's Defense Ministry, which is still evaluating the Teng Yun 2, largely relies on crewed fighter jets and naval vessels to counter China's gray zone incursions, which include probes by warships, warplanes, military drones, and even balloons.

The Teng Yun 2, like the MQ-9 made by General Atomics, is capable of both remote-controlled or autonomous flight.

It was designed to operate in all weather conditions, day or night, and is capable of aerial surveillance, reconnaissance, electronic warfare, meteorological observation, and signal relaying.

In combat, the Teng Yun 2 is expected to provide critical, real-time information to Taiwan's armed forces and serve as an early warning system, the Liberty Times said.

Both Taipei and Beijing have invested in large and small drones and other unmanned systems, whose effectiveness has been proven in recent years in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

Taiwan, which has largely relied on the United States for advanced weapons systems, is also investing in other domestically developed platforms, most notably a new class of diesel-electric submarine.

In 2020, the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump approved Taiwan's request to procure four MQ-9B SeaGuardian variants of the drone. The foreign military sale worth $600 million is expected to be fulfilled in 2025.

The American and Taiwanese drones will operate alongside one another as part of the island's future military arsenal. The Liberty Times said the Teng Yun 2 will be responsible for medium- and low-altitude missions, while the MQ-9B will handle high-altitude surveillance.