Taiwan's Ocean Affairs Council is developing an autonomous system to let drone fleets coordinate and carry out maritime missions without human intervention, in response to "grey-zone" activities by China around the island, according to a report from Tom's Hardware citing the South China Morning Post.
Working with National Cheng Kung University, the council has already completed simultaneous flight simulations of two drone fleets of 10 aircraft each, moving from individual aircraft control to coordination between detachments. "The next stage will involve hardware-in-the-loop testing, prototype integration and flight trials over actual maritime areas to assess reliability under different sea and weather conditions," the council said.
The project is designed to help Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration counter Chinese grey-zone tactics in surrounding waters. The report notes instances of civilian Chinese ships damaging undersea cables that Taipei relies on, prompting the CGA to increase defensive patrols around 24 undersea cables and monitor nearly a hundred China-linked boats. It also says Chinese "research vessels" continue to loiter over Taiwan-U.S. undersea cables, mimicking the activities of Russian trawlers in the Atlantic.
The drones are programmed with a minimum separation of 100 feet in three-dimensional space, and the system incorporates leader-follower formation flying and dynamic obstacle avoidance. It is intended to let different types of drones coordinate movements, divide tasks and plan routes, mainly for maritime surveillance.
The project is focusing on three Western-made drones: the Jump 20, the V-BAT and the Flexrotor. The Ocean Affairs Council has just received the V-BAT, a vertical take-off and landing drone built by U.S. defense firm Shield AI. It can operate for more than 12 hours and can take off from constrained deck space, which the report says suits the Coast Guard Administration without major ship renovations.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The project aims to automate maritime surveillance over waters where reports say Chinese vessels have damaged undersea cables that Taiwan relies on, potentially changing how the island protects critical infrastructure.
- It marks a shift from single-drone control to coordinated multi-fleet operations, which could extend the Coast Guard Administration's reach without major upgrades to its ships.
- The development is part of a wider regional pattern in which autonomous systems are being used to respond to pressure campaigns that stop short of open conflict.
Background
Grey-zone tactics generally refer to coercive actions below the threshold of open armed conflict, often using civilian and paramilitary assets to test an opponent's limits. Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration is the main agency responsible for maritime law enforcement around the island, and the reported drone project is one response to Chinese vessels said to be damaging undersea cables and loitering over cable routes. The work is still at an early stage: simulations of two 10-drone fleets have been completed, and the next milestones are hardware-in-the-loop testing, prototype integration and flight trials over maritime areas.
What to Watch
- Whether the council completes hardware-in-the-loop testing and begins flight trials over actual maritime areas, and how the drones perform in different sea and weather conditions.
- How the Coast Guard Administration uses the V-BAT drones it has received, and whether the Jump 20 and Flexrotor follow.
- Any further incidents near undersea cables, which could accelerate the project or reshape its priorities.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 11 supported.
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- SupportedTaiwan is moving toward autonomous drone swarms to counter China’s grey-zone tactics at sea.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Taiwan working on autonomous drone swarms to counter China’s increasingly aggressive grey-zone military tactics”
- SupportedThe Ocean Affairs Council has completed two-fleet simulations and is preparing for maritime flight trials.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “has already completed flight simulations, now working towards flight trials over maritime areas”
- SupportedThe Ocean Affairs Council is developing a system for drone fleets to coordinate and carry out missions without human intervention in response to China’s grey-zone activities.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Taiwan’s Ocean Affairs Council is working on an autonomous system that would allow drone fleets to coordinate and execute missions without human intervention in response to "grey-zone" activities carried out by China.”
- SupportedThe report is from Tom’s Hardware and cites the South China Morning Post.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “According to the South China Morning Post , the council is working with the National Cheng Kung University”
- SupportedThe council is working with National Cheng Kung University, which completed simultaneous flight simulations of two fleets of 10 aircraft each, moving from individual control to coordination between detachments.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “completed simultaneous flight simulations of two drone fleets, with each fleet comprising 10 units. This is already the second step of the process, which has shifted from individual aircraft control to the coordination of two drone detachments.”
- SupportedThe council said the next stage would include hardware-in-the-loop testing, prototype integration and flight trials over maritime areas.Latest from Tom's Hardware: ““The next stage will involve hardware-in-the-loop testing, prototype integration and flight trials over actual maritime areas to assess reliability under different sea and weather conditions,” the council said.”
- Partly supportedCivilian Chinese ships damaging undersea cables prompted the CGA to increase defensive patrols around 24 cables and monitor nearly a hundred China-linked boats.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “There have already been instances of civilian Chinese ships damaging undersea cables that Taipei relies on, with the CGA increasing its defensive patrols around 24 undersea cables and closely monitoring nearly a hundred China-linked boats.”
- SupportedChinese research vessels continue to loiter over Taiwan-U.S. undersea cables, mimicking Russian trawlers’ activities in the Atlantic.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Chinese “research vessels” continue to loiter over Taiwan-U.S. undersea cables, mimicking the activities of Russian trawlers in the Atlantic.”
- SupportedThe drones have a minimum separation of 100 feet in three-dimensional space, and the system incorporates leader-follower formation flying and dynamic obstacle avoidance.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “The researchers programmed the drones to have a minimum separation of 100 feet in 3D space, and they’re also incorporating leader-follower formation flying and dynamic obstacle avoidance.”
- SupportedThe system is intended to let different types of drones coordinate, divide tasks and plan routes, mainly for maritime surveillance.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “the autonomous system Taipei is working on would let different types of drones coordinate their movements, divide tasks, and plan routes, primarily for maritime surveillance.”
- SupportedThe project is focusing on three Western-made drones: the Jump 20, V-BAT and Flexrotor.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “The project is currently focusing on three Western-made drones — the Jump 20, V-BAT, and Flexrotor.”
- SupportedThe Ocean Affairs Council has just received a V-BAT, a vertical take-off and landing drone made by Shield AI; it can operate for more than 12 hours and take off from constrained deck space without major ship renovations.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “the Ocean Affairs Council just received the V-BAT, a VTOL drone built by U.S. defense firm Shield AI. This unit can take off vertically from the relatively constrained deck space of non-aircraft carrier ships and offers an endurance of over 12 hours”