Taiwan confirms buy of 36 new surveillance drones

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense has confirmed it will acquire 36 Rui Yuan II drones under a newly authorized special defense budget totaling NT$12.6 billion (approx. USD $402 million).

The procurement is scheduled to take place between 2026 and 2029, with the platforms intended to support long-range surveillance, electronic intelligence, and maritime reconnaissance missions.

The announcement comes after earlier speculation that the Rui Yuan II program might be postponed or canceled due to tight fiscal allocations. However, according to a briefing submitted to members of the Legislative Yuan, the project will proceed in full and is officially listed within the special budget framework.

The Ministry stated that Rui Yuan II unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are expected to gradually replace piloted surveillance aircraft, resulting in substantial savings on fuel and operations costs.

Earlier procurement planning documents listed the project under the internal designation “Project Rui Jiu.” According to that listing, the military plans to acquire 36 composite airframes for medium-altitude UAVs over a four-year period starting in 2026. Additionally, nine sets of electronic intelligence receivers tailored for the drone’s payload configuration will be acquired to enhance its SIGINT mission capabilities.

The NT$150 million ($4.79 million) development contract awarded recently to the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) is not part of the full-rate production program. That funding is designated for building four prototype UAVs equipped with different payload configurations. Following performance tests, NCSIST will down-select the optimal variant to enter mass production as the standard Rui Yuan II configuration.

The Rui Yuan II is a domestically designed medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) drone constructed from advanced composite materials. It features a 12-meter wingspan and is powered by an air-cooled rotary engine. The aircraft boasts a maximum range of 2,000 kilometers and employs a frequency-hopping communication system, a multi-band navigation antenna, and hardened counter-jamming features to support long-endurance ISR operations over sea and land.

During a live-fire exercise last year involving Taiwan’s precision-guided strike munitions, the Rui Yuan II successfully performed real-time maritime target acquisition. It transmitted sensor imagery from its onboard radar and optical systems using microwave links, Ka-band satellite relay, and mobile 4G/5G uplinks, directly to the operational command center.

In addition to satellite guidance, the drone also supports microwave ground control, enabling line-of-sight operation up to approximately 300 kilometers. If satellite signals are available, the system can extend its reconnaissance coverage significantly, supporting deep-range surveillance missions across the Taiwan Strait and beyond.

Rui Yuan II is the follow-on to Taiwan’s Rui Yuan I drone program and reflects a broader push for strategic autonomy in intelligence-gathering capabilities. Taiwan has previously relied heavily on manned aircraft such as the RC-70 for regional ISR, but increased operational costs and contested airspace have driven the shift to indigenous drones.

According to local defense industry sources, the Rui Yuan II’s integrated satellite and microwave communications architecture was developed in collaboration with both military operators and Taiwan’s civilian space sector. The drone’s airframe is reportedly undergoing compatibility tests for future integration of modular strike payloads, though the current procurement focuses solely on surveillance and electronic warfare variants.