U.S. defence firm Kratos and Taiwan’s military have successfully tested a new jet-powered attack drone.
A step both sides are calling a major breakthrough.
The trial took place at Kratos’ facility in Oklahoma. Engineers validated a Taiwanese combat payload on the company’s Mighty Hornet IV drone.
Kratos described the test as a “milestone.”
It hinted at deeper cooperation with Taiwan’s top military research body, the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology.
Taiwan’s side was even more direct, saying the project helps speed up development.
It supports “rapid countermeasures and long-range pre-emptive strikes.”
Rising Taiwan Pressure
So why does this matter now? China has sharply increased military pressure on Taiwan, flying warplanes and drones near the island almost daily.
Taipei says detected Chinese aircraft activity jumped 23% last year alone.
The Mighty Hornet IV is designed as a low-cost, cruise-missile-like weapon that can be deployed in large numbers.
Kratos says Taiwan aims to base a “large quantity” of them on the island.
Cheap enough to be expendable, powerful enough to complicate any attack.
In an era of high-tech warfare, quantity may just become a quality of its own.
