NCSIST Chien Hsiang

The NCSIST Chien Hsiang (Taiwanese: kiàm-siông; English “Rising Sword”) is a Taiwanese anti-radiation loitering munition developed by the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology.

Overview #

Chien Hsiang loitering munition
The Chien Hsiang is two meters wide, and 1.2 meters long. It has a delta wing and a pusher propeller. The Chien Hsiang has a reported loiter time of 100 hours and a top speed of 185 km/h. They are primarily intended to fill the anti-radiation weapon role targeting enemy radars, transmitters, and associated systems.
While the Chien Hsiang is comparable to the Israeli IAI Harpy, NCSIST has said that any resemblance is purely coincidental and that the platform is entirely indigenous.
A variant with a sensor ball mounted under its nose has been displayed.

History #

The Chien Hsiang was first exhibited in 2017 at the Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition. In 2019 the Taiwan Air Force’s Air Defense and Missile Command announced a five year, NT$80b (US$2.54b) project to build up a full force of anti-radiation UAVs.
In 2022, it was reported that Chien Hsiang production was ahead of schedule and initial procurement was expected to be completed by 2024 or 2025.

Launcher #

The main Chien Hsiang launch platform is a trailer mounting twelve box launchers. It can also be launched from fixed positions and naval vessels.

Variants #

Decoy #

Designed to confuse air defenses systems in conjunction with strike Chien Hsiangs.

Anti-ship #

Two Chien Hsiang derivatives with larger warheads were displayed in 2023.

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