Taiwan training laser weapons on China’s drone threat

Taiwan has teamed up with allies to develop a 50-kilowatt laser weapon system, marking a potential great leap in the self-governing island’s defenses against China’s rising drone threats and incursions.

The Taipei Times reported that Taiwan is rapidly advancing in the development of a pioneering 50-kilowatt vehicle-mounted laser weapon, which it aims to deploy on CM-32 Clouded Leopard armored vehicles by the end of the year.

The initiative, spearheaded by the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST), marks a notable improvement on a low-powered prototype unveiled last year. The high-energy laser system under development is primarily designed to counter drones.

The effort highlights the institute’s global technological collaborations and the publication of research exploring operational synergies between laser technology and existing air defense platforms such as the missile-based AN/TWQ-1 Avenger.

While lasers can be used against ballistic and hypersonic missiles, a July 2021 US Congressional Research Service (CRS) report states that a 1-megawatt laser may be needed to neutralize such threats.

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YAL-1 airborne laser weapon was in that power range, it was canceled in 2010 due to high costs, impractical size and weight, technological immaturity and limited range due to atmospheric beam distortion.

However, solid-state laser (SSL) technology advancements and a resetting of goals to use lasers for point defense rather than missile defense have made laser weapons feasible.

Taiwan’s new laser weapon may become the “hard kill” component of its planned national drone defense system against intruding drones from mainland China.

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