Now in its second year, the National Defense Application UAV Challenge pits students from universities around Taiwan against each other in a competition to design drones for the defense of the nation.
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00:00The whizzing sound of drones at a university in southern Taiwan is a major attraction this month.
00:05These students in Jiayi County are not working on a school project.
00:09Instead, they hope to play their part in defending the country.
00:13As China escalates its coercive activity across the Taiwan Strait, Taiwan is taking an all-of-society approach to boost its defense.
00:21Now, those efforts include a competition for university students to design unmanned aerial vehicles or drones.
00:30We want to strengthen our drones on this theme, so we have invested resources in various ministries.
00:42We are under the guidance of the National Science and Technology Commission, so we are mainly improving our advanced technology.
00:48We hope that our advanced technology can meet the needs and shortcomings of Taiwan's drone industry.
00:55The National Defense Application UAV Challenge is now in its second year.
00:59Last month, 20 university teams went head-to-head in a battle of the drones.
01:05A winning drone design project could be acquired by Taiwan's defense companies and possibly end up in service down the road.
01:12Inspired by Ukraine's success in using drones in its war with Russia, Taiwan sees the technology as a key part of its asymmetrical warfare doctrine.
01:21Ukraine has developed drones as a lethal tool to take on a larger land army.
01:25But they have also been vulnerable to Russia's jamming attacks on the operator's signal.
01:31For that reason, this year's drone competition simulates a realistic battlefield scenario where jammers could cut the satellite signal to the unmanned vehicle.
01:39In terms of war, in terms of defense applications, I think Taiwan's development potential will be greater.
01:46I see that Taiwan has invested a lot of money in defense applications, so I want to follow this trend.
01:58Learning from the Ukrainian experience, these students have committed to developing drones to help Taiwan survive against an enemy with greater numbers and firepower.
02:06Conflict with China may not be imminent, but Taiwan is preparing for the day that everyone hopes will never arrive.