GoKawiilIn a nutshell: No war has seen drones used quite like the Ukraine-Russia conflict, where the devices have been helping hold back invading Russian forces since 2022. Taiwan, which has been concerned about the prospect of Chinese invasion for years, is taking note.
Taiwan has seen an increase in volunteer-led civil defence groups in recent times as China becomes more aggressive and emboldened by Russia's actions.
The Guardian reports that a drone program was launched in Taiwan in May. Kuma Academy, the civil defense NGO that runs the training, says the course helps beginner pilots understand how drones are used on the battlefield. It forms part of a broader push to improve drone literacy among Taiwan's public.
Taiwan now has more than 39,000 registered drones and lowered the minimum age for drone registration to 14 in 2024.
Sessions at Kuma Academy's drone piloting course, where about 75 people can be trained each month, have sold out through August. Some schools are even holding summer camps to teach kids how to assemble drones and use them for search and rescue.
Tang Tsung-yi, a spokesperson at Kuma Academy, a spokesperson for Kuma Academy, said the goal is to enable people to "move from passive defense like sheltering to a more active role in observing risks and sharing information."
As commercial drones are susceptible to electronic jamming, the classes use Taiwanese-made drones that weigh less than 100 grams and have no GPS or self-driving systems – operators need to learn how to fly by sight and manual reflexes. Taiwan is also trying to cut China out of the supply chain for its unmanned aerial vehicles.
It was reported last year that Ukraine was looking to recruit gamers to pilot its drones, given the parallels between gaming and drone piloting. The country's Typhoon unit did warn, however, that this wasn't like Call of Duty, where you can restart if things go wrong.
Illustrating the sheer number of drones being used by both sides in Ukraine was a story last week about the discovery of a bird's nest made from drone fiber-optic cables. Fiber-optic drones trail a physical cable behind them, giving operators a connection that cannot be jammed by traditional electronic warfare – and a material for birds to build their nests.