Republic of China Army Conducts First Urban Warfare Drone Strike Exercises

The Republic of China Army has carried out a drone combat training exercise from March 10, during which personnel have operated immersive drones  first-person-view attack drones in a simulated urban battlefield to conduct precision strikes and bomb-dropping pursuit attacks. Units operating under the Army’s 58th Artillery Command were required to locate and engage simulated hostile forces operating inside buildings and vehicles, with military officials described the exercise as part of broader efforts to develop operational concepts for unmanned systems in urban combat environments. This reflects part of a broader focus on urban warfare capabilities, with multiple exercises having simulated city fighting on Taiwan Island over the past year. These have included controversial deployments of self-propelled artillery in civilian areas, as well as training to use the Taipei underground rail network for strategic redeployments. 

In December 2025 the Republic of China Army’s 584th Armoured Brigade deployed newly operationalised M1A2 Abrams tanks for battalion-level urban operational readiness and infrastructure protection exercises in the Hsinchu area, a key industrial hub, alongside multiple other armoured vehicle types. Multiple vehicle types formed an armoured column which manoeuvred through roads and urban areas in the city. The Republic of China remains in a state of civil war with the People’s Republic of China based on the Chinese mainland, with both claiming to be the sole legitimate Chinese governments. The vastly inferior resources of the Republic of China Armed Forces have resulted in a growing focus on using asymmetric assets including attack drones and mobile ballistic missile and rocket artillery launchers. 

The latest training event organised the participating personnel into tactical teams of five, each including a squad leader, deputy squad leader, reconnaissance drone and two operators controlling attack drones.The reconnaissance drone was used first to locate targets before the attack drones were deployed. Reconnaissance drones had longer endurances and more stable flight characteristics, allowing them to be used by each team to conduct an initial search of the operating area to assess the number of adversaries, their positions, and the armaments they fielded. The reconnaissance operator would relay this information to the team leader and higher command authorities to allow attack plans to be made. Attack drones launched both collision strikes and bombing runs.