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President Lai Ching-te has pointed to the war in Ukraine as an example of how a small country can use drones to counter a larger invading force. But Taiwan, with its dense jungles and tall buildings, presents some unique challenges. TaiwanPlus spoke to drone warfare analyst and former Ukraine War volunteer Corey Wetherholt of Civ Div to find out how Taiwan can adapt.
Transcript
00:00Now, based on your experience in several war zones in Syria, Iraq, and Ukraine, and most recently working with civil
00:07defense groups in Taiwan, how does Taiwan compare as a potential battlefield?
00:13So I was part of the Marine Corps. That's where I started. And then after that, I ended up going
00:18to Syria on my own as a volunteer.
00:20I did about a half a year there with the Kurds, some of our partner forces out there.
00:24And then after that, I went to Iraq, where I was living in a tunnel system as a guerrilla fighter,
00:29again, with our partner forces.
00:30And then right when the war started in Ukraine, I flew from Iraq to Ukraine, and I've spent about two
00:35years in country since the war began.
00:38When I think back of my time in Iraq, this was a couple of years after ISIS had invaded.
00:43A lot of people died because the government there wasn't prepared for an invasion.
00:48So I think on a strategic level, it's a lot like Iraq.
00:52Taiwan has the benefit of not being the first one against a large country trying to invade them.
00:59So there's a lot of lessons learned that can be had right now.
01:03And from the little experience I have training inside of Taiwan, I think that they're taking it serious.
01:08Now, President Lai has pointed to Ukraine as a model, promoting drones as a way for Taiwan to counter China's
01:15far larger forces.
01:16So based on your experience, how transferable are those lessons to Taiwan?
01:21A lot of countries that could benefit from this, and Ukraine has proven it.
01:25About 95% of casualties inside of Ukraine is based off of Russian military hospitals.
01:30About 95% are either directly or indirectly caused by these small FPVs or small loitering drones.
01:37This is one way to make up for the manpower shortage that these countries have.
01:41Taiwan has very dense and tall urban terrain, which is a little bit different than what we see in Ukraine,
01:47as well as the jungle canopy and all that.
01:50But it doesn't change anything.
01:52These small drones are going to be used in one way or another.
01:56Now, in your experience working with defense groups in Taiwan, what types of drones should the country be prioritizing?
02:02Attack, surveillance, or a mix?
02:05What we're using, they're running a frequency that doesn't really go well when it comes to dense forest coverage.
02:11So I think that different frequencies, I think that different types of drones, specifically droppers, are going to be a
02:17lot more effective than the traditional kamikazes we see in Ukraine.
02:20I'm a big believer on my channel, as well as in person, about bombing FPVs, because it's not only that
02:27they can drop two kilos, you know, a two kilo warhead, a 60 millimeter mortar,
02:32but most of the missions we did when it was first successful was units out in the front line for
02:3830 days that don't have any water, food, or supplies anymore, and they need it.
02:42So that was what we were able to give them.
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