Taiwan Is a NIGHTMARE for Drones - My Experience

About this video

• Video Title: Taiwan Is a NIGHTMARE for Drones - My Experience
• Channel: Civ Div
• Speakers: The speaker is not explicitly named in the transcript.
• Duration: 00:08:53

Overview

This video discusses the significant challenges of operating drones in Taiwan's terrain compared to Ukraine. It highlights how dense foliage, mountainous landscapes, and urban environments in Taiwan impede drone visibility, communication, and operational effectiveness. The speaker shares experiences from a recent training exercise in Taiwan, contrasting it with previous deployments in Ukraine and offering insights into how drone tactics may need to adapt for such complex environments.

Key takeaways

• Environmental Differences: Taiwan's terrain (dense triple canopy, rolling mountains, urban areas) presents far greater challenges for drones than Ukraine's open, flat landscape with sparse tree lines, especially in winter.
• Land Navigation and Visibility Issues: Dense foliage and mountainous terrain severely limit line of sight for both drone pilots and operators, making it difficult to maintain signal, navigate, and pinpoint targets.
• FPV Drone Limitations: 5.8 GHz frequency drones, common for FPVs and Mavics, struggle to penetrate wet canopy, making close-range strikes and surveillance difficult.
• Bomber Drones Advantage: Larger "bomber" drones are suggested as more effective due to their ability to maintain altitude, retain line of sight, and carry larger payloads in challenging environments.
• Communication Challenges: Rolling hills and dense canopy require more robust communication systems like mesh networking for reliable command and control, and jamming is less effective due to terrain.
• Lower Frequencies Recommended: Using sub-gigahertz frequencies for video and control is suggested for better penetration through tree coverage compared to 5.8 GHz.
• Dismounted Operations and Recovery: Infiltration and exfiltration are primarily dismounted due to terrain, making drone equipment transport and recovery significantly harder than in Ukraine.
• Infantry Advantage in Jungle: Infantry can more easily approach and detect drone teams in dense jungle due to concealment, requiring drone operators to change route patterns and be less predictable.
• Night Operations: Simple anti-thermal solutions like umbrellas can help infantry blend into the canopy at night, making them harder for drones to detect.