Potential of uncrewed war systemsBy Huang Wei-ping 黃惟冰In a report released on Feb. 26, US think tank the Center for a New American Security asserted that Taiwan could deploy large numbers of drones and other uncrewed systems, in combination with conventional weapons, to create a “hellscape” scenario for Chinese forces attempting to cross the Taiwan Strait, thereby achieving a deterrent effect. In fact, over the past several years, the Ukraine war has already demonstrated the decisive impact that uncrewed systems can have on warfare. In terms of the situation across the Taiwan Strait, Taiwan, the US and Japan are all democratic systems that assign the utmost importance to the safety of their citizens’ lives and property. However, as battlefields evolve toward greater reliance on uncrewed systems, future conflicts would primarily consume munitions and uncrewed vehicles rather than human lives. In this respect, such a development would be a major strategic advantage for the defense of the Taiwan Strait.
