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Taiwan receives 291 US-made Altius 600M kamikaze drones — report

According to Taipei Times, the first batch of these UAVs was received by the island last August, 14 months after Washington authorized their sale to Taipei

HONG KONG, March 20. /TASS/. Taiwan has received 291 Altius 600M kamikaze drones from the United States. According to the Taipei Times, the deliveries were made in several stages and are now fully completed.

According to the newspaper, the first batch of these UAVs was received by the island last August, 14 months after Washington authorized their sale to Taipei. The Altius 600M is a light autonomous combat drone that can be deployed in reconnaissance or attack missions, with an effective range of 160 km.

The Taiwanese National Defense Ministry previously reported that these drones feature foldable wings for easy transport and would provide the military with an all-weather, day/night offensive capability to engage ground targets, including tanks.

The US this year is expected to deliver a range of arms to Taiwan, including M1A2T Abrams tanks, High Mobility Rocket Artillery Systems (HIMARS), Harpoon Coastal Defense Systems, targeting pods utilized in F-16 jets and third-generation Field Information Communications Systems, the ministry said, the newspaper writes.

Taiwan has been governed by its own administration since 1949, when the remnants of the Kuomintang forces led by Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) fled to the island after losing the Chinese Civil War. According to Beijing’s official position, supported by most countries, including Russia, it is one of the regions of the People’s Republic of China.

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