US Indo-Pacific Commander: China intends to build drone force as vanguard of attack
The US Indo-Pacific Commander testified in Congress that China is learning from the Ukraine conflict and the US-Iran war, and intends to build a drone force as the vanguard for a potential invasion of Taiwan. This highlights the importance of Taiwan's defense strategy and US support.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 22, 2026 at 08:38
- 🔍 Collected: April 22, 2026 at 09:01 (23 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 22, 2026 at 10:11 (1h 9m after Collected)
Central News Agency
(Central News Agency reporter Hou Tzu-ying, Washington, April 21) The Russia-Ukraine conflict and the US-Iran war have both shown changes in the nature of warfare. US lawmakers are concerned about how the development of unmanned warfare will affect China's calculations regarding Taiwan. US Indo-Pacific Commander Samuel Paparo stated today at a congressional hearing that this has caused Beijing deep concern and they are trying to cope. They want to build a drone force to serve as the vanguard of attack.
The US Federal Senate held a hearing today on the deployment posture of the US Indo-Pacific Command, with military generals including Paparo (Samuel Paparo) in attendance. Paparo mentioned in his written statement that three major trends are driving the transformation of modern conflict: information, influence, perception, and cyber operations; the commoditization of low-cost, large-scale, unmanned systems has lowered the threshold for acquiring advanced capabilities; and the commoditization of long-range, precise, penetrating, and low-cost strike capabilities provides greater leverage for coercion.
Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal stated that the capabilities of asymmetric warfare and the development of low-cost, large-scale unmanned warfare have been witnessed in Ukraine, and he speculated that Paparo's comments were also based on the current Iran war.
Blumenthal asked how this affects China's calculations, considering Taiwan's smaller size and fewer troops, but its capabilities in cyber and providing unmanned asymmetric capabilities. Paparo responded that he believes China is deeply concerned about this, and they, like the US, are trying to cope with the changing nature of warfare.
Paparo believes that China wants to build a drone force to serve as the vanguard of attack. The large-scale deployment and use of low-cost and expendable munitions can give the defender an advantage, but only if they are deployed in large numbers, continuously, and commanded using AI tools to surpass potential adversaries.
In addition to the US providing these resources to support Taiwan, he said that Taiwan's continued pursuit of self-defense capabilities is also a key factor.
On the other hand, Democratic Senator Jack Reed, the ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, stated that the situations in Taiwan and Ukraine are analogous, and Taiwan will adopt asymmetric warfare to counter China. Is the US now focused on learning from Ukraine's drone warfare experience?
Paparo responded that this is indeed a core focus. The so-called "hellscape" strategy uses low-cost munitions and drone warfare to inflict heavy costs on attacking forces, and leveraging these experiences will be a top priority.
Paparo also mentioned in his written statement that the Indo-Pacific Command continues to provide security assistance to Taiwan in accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act, enabling it to build reliable, resilient, asymmetric, and cost-effective self-defense capabilities.
He pointed out that Beijing has not ruled out the possibility of using force against Taiwan, and its increasingly provocative actions around Taiwan are not just exercises, but rehearsals for a potential "unification by force." (Editor: Tien Jui-hua) 1150422
Choose to stand with facts, every sponsorship you make is a force to protect press freedom.
Download the Central News Agency's "First-hand News" APP to stay updated with the latest news.
The text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, publicly transmitted, or utilized without authorization.
(Central News Agency reporter Hou Tzu-ying, Washington, April 21) The Russia-Ukraine conflict and the US-Iran war have both shown changes in the nature of warfare. US lawmakers are concerned about how the development of unmanned warfare will affect China's calculations regarding Taiwan. US Indo-Pacific Commander Samuel Paparo stated today at a congressional hearing that this has caused Beijing deep concern and they are trying to cope. They want to build a drone force to serve as the vanguard of attack.
The US Federal Senate held a hearing today on the deployment posture of the US Indo-Pacific Command, with military generals including Paparo (Samuel Paparo) in attendance. Paparo mentioned in his written statement that three major trends are driving the transformation of modern conflict: information, influence, perception, and cyber operations; the commoditization of low-cost, large-scale, unmanned systems has lowered the threshold for acquiring advanced capabilities; and the commoditization of long-range, precise, penetrating, and low-cost strike capabilities provides greater leverage for coercion.
Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal stated that the capabilities of asymmetric warfare and the development of low-cost, large-scale unmanned warfare have been witnessed in Ukraine, and he speculated that Paparo's comments were also based on the current Iran war.
Blumenthal asked how this affects China's calculations, considering Taiwan's smaller size and fewer troops, but its capabilities in cyber and providing unmanned asymmetric capabilities. Paparo responded that he believes China is deeply concerned about this, and they, like the US, are trying to cope with the changing nature of warfare.
Paparo believes that China wants to build a drone force to serve as the vanguard of attack. The large-scale deployment and use of low-cost and expendable munitions can give the defender an advantage, but only if they are deployed in large numbers, continuously, and commanded using AI tools to surpass potential adversaries.
In addition to the US providing these resources to support Taiwan, he said that Taiwan's continued pursuit of self-defense capabilities is also a key factor.
On the other hand, Democratic Senator Jack Reed, the ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, stated that the situations in Taiwan and Ukraine are analogous, and Taiwan will adopt asymmetric warfare to counter China. Is the US now focused on learning from Ukraine's drone warfare experience?
Paparo responded that this is indeed a core focus. The so-called "hellscape" strategy uses low-cost munitions and drone warfare to inflict heavy costs on attacking forces, and leveraging these experiences will be a top priority.
Paparo also mentioned in his written statement that the Indo-Pacific Command continues to provide security assistance to Taiwan in accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act, enabling it to build reliable, resilient, asymmetric, and cost-effective self-defense capabilities.
He pointed out that Beijing has not ruled out the possibility of using force against Taiwan, and its increasingly provocative actions around Taiwan are not just exercises, but rehearsals for a potential "unification by force." (Editor: Tien Jui-hua) 1150422
Choose to stand with facts, every sponsorship you make is a force to protect press freedom.
Download the Central News Agency's "First-hand News" APP to stay updated with the latest news.
The text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, publicly transmitted, or utilized without authorization.