Taiwan defence logistics under fire over missing chargers for US drones
Taiwan’s military has taken delivery of 291 one-way attack drones from US maker Anduril Industries, only to find they came without chargers and require American assistance to recharge them. The revelation involving the Altius-600M loitering munitions has prompted Taiwan’s opposition lawmakers to question the military’s procurement and logistical planning, days before the drones join other weapons…
Taiwan's military recently received 291 one-way attack drones from US maker Anduril Industries but found them lacking essential chargers. This has sparked questions from opposition lawmakers about the procurement and logistics planning, occurring days before the drones join other weapons systems in live-fire exercises. The issue arises because the original equipment contained Chinese-made components, making it incompatible with Taiwan's non-Chinese supply chain policy.
The army only discovered this after taking delivery and subsequently requested US assistance to recharge the systems. Taiwanese legislator Ma Wen-chun questioned the lack of basic logistical planning and the large order of spare batteries. The military responded that each drone came with one installed battery and one spare, and Anduril has developed a charger that meets the required supply-chain standards.
The controversy comes as Taiwan and the US prepare for a sensitive summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, and the drones provide important anti-armour and anti-landing firepower, according to defense authorities.
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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