NCSIST Cardinal

Family of Taiwanese UAVs

NCSIST Cardinal II UAV

Cardinal is a family of small unmanned aerial vehicles made by the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST).

## Variants

[edit]

### Cardinal I

[edit]

The Cardinal I was the initial prototype of the Cardinal.[1]

### Cardinal II

[edit]

The Cardinal II began development in 2009 and is based on the Cardinal I but has a better payload design, digital data link, and automatic tracking antenna system. It was exhibited at the 2015 Paris Air Show. In service with Republic of China Marine Corps[2] and Republic of China Army.[3] Other than military missions the Cardinal II can be used for civil remote sensing and disaster relief missions.[4]

The Taiwanese Navy procured 54 aircraft in 2016.[5]

The components of a Cardinal II system are the aircraft, an antenna, and a ground control box. The Cardinal II is hand launched and recovered by parachute. The aircraft is equipped with an autopilot and can transmit data and imagery in real time.[4] The remote control flight range is 8km.[6] In service a Taiwanese Cardinal II unit has six primary aircraft and three backups.[5]

### Cardinal III

[edit]

Cardinal III features vertical takeoff and landing capabilities. It is reportedly optimized for coastal surveillance.[7] It is intended for operation by the Marine Corps.[8] It was displayed at the Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition in 2023.[9]

### Fire Cardinal

[edit]

In 2019 NCSIST exhibited the Fire Cardinal for the first time at the Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition. It was referred to by NCSIST as an "air-to-ground assault" UAV, what is more commonly known as a loitering munition.[10] The Fire Cardinal is a twin-propeller drone about four feet long with a six-foot wingspan. It weighs around 15 pounds and includes an electro-optical and infrared sensor as well as advanced target discrimination systems.[11]

## Specifications (Cardinal II)

[edit]

General characteristics

* Length: 1.9[2] m (6 ft 3 in)
* Wingspan: 1.3[2] m (4 ft 3 in)
* Gross weight: 5.5[2] kg (12 lb)

Performance

* Maximum speed: 55 km/h (34 mph, 30 kn)
* Range: 50 km (31 mi, 27 nmi)

## See also

[edit]

* NCSIST Chien Hsiang
* AeroVironment RQ-20 Puma
* Defense industry of Taiwan

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Cardinal Mini Unmanned Aircraft Systems". www.ncsist.org.tw. NCSIST. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Cardinal II Unmanned Aircraft System". www.ncsist.org.tw. NCSIST. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
3. ^ Ng, JR (August 2019). "Asia-Pacific Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Directory 2018". Asia Military Review: 14–27. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
4. ^ a b "Cardinal II" (PDF). www.ncsist.org.tw. NCSIST. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
5. ^ a b Strong, Matthew. "Taiwan military plans Cardinal drones upgrade". taiwannews.com.tw. Taiwan News. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
6. ^ Elaine Hou and Kuo Chung-han, Rita Cheng. "New U.S. drone sale policy could be good for Taiwan". focustaiwan.tw. Focus Taiwan. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
7. ^ Cheung, Eric. "Taiwan unveils its new combat and surveillance drones as China threat grows". cnn.com. CNN. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
8. ^ DOMINGUEZ, GABRIEL. "Taking page from Ukraine, Taiwan shows off new killer drones". japantimes.co.jp/. Japan Times. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
9. ^ Kajal, Kapil. "TADTE 2023: NCSIST displays new UASs". janes.com. Janes. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
10. ^ Wong, Kelvin. "TADTE 2019: NCSIST unveils Fire Cardinal mini-UAV". www.janes.com. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
11. ^ MAKICHUK (22 October 2019). "Taiwan builds lethal fleet of kamikaze drones". www.asiatimes.com. Asia Times. Retrieved 16 January 2020.

* v
* t
* e

Republic of China (Taiwan) Armed Forces

Branches|

* Army
* Navy
* Marine Corps
* Naval Aviation
* Air Force
* Military Police

Organizations|

* Army Academy
* Air Force Academy
* Department of Conscription Administration
* National Security Bureau
* Military Academy
* Ministry of National Defense
* Armaments Bureau
* All-Out Defense Mobilization Agency
* Republic of China Armed Forces Reserve
* National Defense University
* Fu Hsing Kang College
* National Defense Medical Center
* Naval Academy

Units|

| Historical|

* Chinese-American Composite Wing (Provisional)
* Flying Tigers
* Soviet Volunteer Group
* Technical Air Intelligence Unit

|

Current|

* 12th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron
* 101st Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion
* 21st Fighter Squadron
* ARPU
* ASSC
* Black Bat Squadron
* Black Cat Squadron
* MPSSC
* Thunder Tiger Aerobatics Team

Equipment|

* Sky Horse
* Sky Spear
* Sky Bow I / II / III
* Sky Sword I
* Sky Sword II
* Wan Chien
* Hsiung Feng I / II / IIE / III
* Yun Feng
* IDF Ching-kuo
* CM-32
* Type 64 tank
* T65 assault rifle
* T74 machine gun
* T75 light machine gun
* T75 pistol
* T77 submachine gun
* T86 assault rifle
* T91 assault rifle
* T112 assault rifle
* T93 sniper rifle
* XT-97 assault rifle
* Kestrel
* XTR-101/102
* CS/MPQ-90 Bee Eye
* Chien Hsiang
* Cardinal
* Albatross

Issues|

* Conscription
* Taiwan Strait crises
* 1955
* 1958
* 1996)
* 2022 Chinese military exercises around Taiwan
* 2023 Chinese military exercises around Taiwan

Other topics|

* Civil defense
* Coast Guard Administration (Taiwan)
* Special Task Unit
* Defense industry of Taiwan
* Forward Alliance
* Han Kuang Exercise
* Heng Shan Military Command Center
* Ranks
* Kuma Academy
* List of military accidents in Taiwan
* Military history of Taiwan
* National Airborne Service Corps
* National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology
* Taiwan and weapons of mass destruction
* Thunder Squad
* Ship and Ocean Industries R&D Center
* Veterans Affairs Council

* v
* t
* e

National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) aircraft

Fixed-wing aircraft|

* Albatross
* Teng Yun
* Cardinal
* Chien Hsiang

Missiles|

* TK-1
* TK-2
* TK-3
* TC-1
* TC-1L
* TC-2
* TC-2A
* TC-2N
* HF-1
* HF-2
* HF-2E
* HF-3
* Sky Horse
* Sky Spear
* Yun Feng
* Wan Chien
* Sea Oryx

Radars|

* CS/MPQ-90 Bee Eye

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template