Although lessons about particular weapons systems are relevant, the more important lesson is about the ecosystem necessary for these new tools to be effective. Ukraine, for instance, has developed Sky Fortress, a network of 14,000 acoustic sensors that locate Russian drones by sound, even at altitudes radar cannot see, to provide a high-fidelity picture of incoming threats. It also has its own battle-management software systems that direct unmanned surveillance, as well as the Unmanned Services Force, an entirely new military service—alongside the army, navy, and air force—that is dedicated to drone warfare, with its own doctrine, leader development, procurement processes, and even recruiting and basic training. Perhaps most critically, the ecosystem in Ukraine also includes manufacturers that can produce enormous quantities of unmanned systems and constantly refine the software and hardware of those systems in response to developments on the battlefield.
Tl;dr:
Taiwan, by contrast, has treated its defense as something to be supplied rather than constructed.
Taiwan has one big advantage, they are world’s electronics manufacturer, they will be protected at least for some time.
The consequences are visible throughout Taiwan’s force, which still prioritizes the acquisition of expensive manned platforms. The same pared-down special budget that eliminated domestic drone production, for instance, preserved billions of dollars for purchases of U.S. weapons systems. Taiwan’s military has also not yet settled on a new doctrine for defense and deterrence that recognizes the contributions that unmanned systems could make.
I heavily disagree, the current noise of drones has lead a lot of nations to foolishly undervalue manned platforms as nodes in swarms of unmanned vehicles. What manned platforms is this article specifically criticizing? Why is there no mention of armored vehicles with 30mm turrets for drone swarms? The Abrams aren’t the most advanced version but if you are going to face waves of drones an Abrams is absolutely the main battle tank you want to be in… plus Taiwan has attack helicopters that can easily be integrated with friendly UAV swarms for air defense and reaction.
I don’t know, there are definitely valid points but I don’t think the narrative is as simple here as the article seems to be convinced it is.
You don’t want to be in a tank (or any armor really) when facing not even a swarm but 3-5 drones. There are stories about how this or that armorered vehicle survived 10 (ten TEN!!) FPVs, but they are just emblematic. Vehicles that can survive multiple drones are extremely rare.
Manned platforms have their place (obviously) but right now they are in extreme disadvantage and there aren’t any universal and effective way to defend against cheap drones.