NCSIST Albatross
Medium UAV for surveillance, reconnaissance, and civilian roles.
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via Wikipedia: NCSIST Albatross · see source
The Republic of China Navy operates the Albatross, a medium unmanned aerial vehicle built by the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology. Also known as the Chung Shyang II, it is referred to as the "Sharp Kite." First unveiled as a prototype at the Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition in August 2005, the Albatross has been in service since at least 2012, when the first of several crashes occurred.
Originally under the Army Aviation and Special Forces Command, the drones were transferred to the Naval Fleet Command in 2017. The fleet has undergone upgrades following incidents, with 26 aircraft completed by May 2020. A larger Albatross II model, co-developed with GEOSAT Aerospace & Technology, was displayed at TADTE in 2023 and 2025.
Design
The Chung Shyang II UAV can perform surveillance, reconnaissance, target acquisition, artillery spotting and battle damage assessment sorties for the military and perform other duties such as border patrol, and aerial reconnaissance for various government agencies. It can also be used as air communication relay and carry out disaster assessment during times of disasters. The Albatross has a wingspan of 8 meters and a range of more than 180km. Endurance is approximately 12 hours.
It carries an electro-optical payload and can operate in both day and night. In addition to its military capabilities the Albatross can also be used for civilian applications such as agriculture, fisheries, animal husbandry, disaster monitoring, environmental protection, traffic control, target searching, position recognition, coastal patrol, communications relay, and hazardous terrain survey. Officials have refused to comment on whether the type can be armed.
Service history
In 2017 the drones were transferred from the Army Aviation and Special Forces Command to the Naval Fleet Command. In 2019 a Navy Albatross made the type's first fly-over demonstration during an exercise in Pingtung. Following a 2019 crash the military ordered upgrades to be made across the entire Albatross fleet, by May 2020 NCSIST had completed upgrades on 26 aircraft.
The Albatross has crashed three times in 2012, 2013, and 2016. On Jan. 24 2018, an Albatross crashed into the sea during a military exercise off of Taitung. Mechanical failure is suspected to be the cause of the crash.
In May 2021 an Albatross was brought down in the waters off Taitung County by its control team after experiencing in-flight anomalies. The control crew made the decision not to risk civilian lives by attempting to return to the airport. This was believed to be the ninth crash of the Albatross since 2012.
Albatross II
Albatross II is an improved model developed by NCSIST and GEOSAT aerospace & technology. Its range is increased with endurance, communications range, and payload also being increased. Unlike Albatross I, it has a synthetic aperture radar. It is compatible with Sky Sword missiles and 2.75in rockets.
It has a reported range of 300km and a maximum loitering time of 16 hours. Artificial intelligence has also been introduced into the surveillance and tracking system. It was displayed at the Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition (TADTE) in 2023 and is approximately twice the size of Albatross I. At the 2025 TADTE it was displayed armed with NCSIST Mighty Hornet I loitering munitions.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: NCSIST Albatross (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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