Taipei, April 29, 2023 – The constant siege continues of fighters and Chinese naval vehicles to the island of Taiwan, yesterday within 24 hours the defenses of Taipei had spotted 6 Chinese ships and 38 aircraft, including the combat drone dubbed the “two-tailed scorpion”. Taiwan’s Defense Ministry counted today at least 17 fighters and 6 warships Chinese, in the immediate vicinity of the island.
Plus at least 13 Beijing jets they have boundless in Taiwan’s airspace in the southeastern part of the island, always followed by the armed forces of Taipei who have deployed air and naval means and missile defense systems, the ministry explains in a statement on Twitter.
Use: underwater drone tests in the Taiwan Strait
Meanwhile, the United States to help Taipei defend the island from Beijing’s claims will begin testing five submarines unmanned in the Taiwan Strait. This was announced by the Chief of Staff of the US Navy, Admiral Michael Gilday. The use of drones can “make a difference”, explained the admiral in a hearing before the Armed Services Committee of the House of Representatives of the US Congress.
Drones that can “make a difference”
These underwater drones are capable of planting mines in the Taiwan Strait. Testing of the first robot submarine is already taking place off the coast of California, Gilday lawmakers said.
Although there is no official communication, the underwater drones should be the Orca-class XLUUVs, developed by Boeing, Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) and Lockheed Martin since 2017 and whose value is 40 million each.
L’Orca XLUUV
The Orca is an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) under development by Boeing and Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) for the United States Navy. The extra-large unmanned underwater vehicle can operate autonomously in missions lasting up to several months. The XLUUVs depart from the base of Boeing’s earlier Echo Voyager AUV. And precisely of this model the US Navy ordered 5, for a total contract value of $274.4 million. The 5 autonomous submarines were delivered to Masina USA in 2022.
What can he do
The Orca has a length of 51 feet, or 16 meters, like Echo Voyager, but in the modular construction it can reach, if required, 26 meters for a capacity of 8 tons. Her tasks are surveillance, submerged and surface combat, electronic and minelaying and demining. She is powered by a hybrid diesel/lithium-ion battery system, like many other submersibles that recharge the batteries with diesel generators for use in submersion. The maximum speed is 8 knots (15 km/h) for a range of up to 6,500 miles (10,500 km), i.e. several months.