A Chinese invasion of Taiwan, by contrast, could play out in just a single day as Beijing’s massed fleet steams across the 100-mile-wide Taiwan Strait and lands potentially tens of thousands of troops on Taiwanese beaches. Taiwanese USVs might get just one shot at the attacking Chinese.
It shouldn’t be too difficult for Taipei, with its extensive high-tech industry, to scale up its prospective robotic fleet. The California think-tank RAND estimated Taiwan could buy 1,000 USVs for a little over one percent of the $20 billion the country spends annually for defense.
And then there are the Americans. In the era of Donald Trump and his isolationist – or, worse, pro-authoritarian – movement, no country can just assume the United States will fight on its behalf. Consider that a handful of Trump-aligned Republican lawmakers have, for six months now, blocked US aid to Ukraine.
But if American voters continue to keep Trump out of power and manage to blunt the power of his legislative acolytes, the United States might still honor its pledge to defend Taiwan from China. In that case, the US Navy could lend its own planned drone fleet – potentially thousands strong – to the war effort.
The Taiwanese and Americans would need to coordinate their USVs. After all, the synchronization of multiple groups of drone boats has been instrumental in the Ukrainians’ recent success with their Sea Babies.
It’s for that reason that experimentation is critical. The US Navy is already testing out drone-swarm tactics. It should invite the Taiwanese military to join the trials. Even if Trump becomes president again and withholds American support during some future Chinese attack on Taiwan, the experience the Taiwanese gain now could help them deploy their own USVs to the greatest effect in the future.
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
