The National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST), the primary armaments developer of Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND), unveiled a new attack unmanned surface vessel (USV) at the Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition (TADTE), the country’s largest defense expo.
The Kaui-Chi USV, previously known as Project Kaui-Chi (快奇專案), was showcased by NCSIST following a dedicated USV exhibition in June 2025, where domestic and international manufacturers were invited to present their products and compete. Since February 2025, the NCSIST-developed USV has been observed multiple times by local shipspotters in Pingtung and Yilan.
According to Taiwanese media reports, the Kaui-Chi USV passed combat evaluation in June and successfully struck a target ship during a sea-and-air missile-firing drill in August. NCSIST said the Kaui-Chi used an innovative tactic—“launching UAVs from a USV”—to hit the target. The platform is capable of swarm attacks and is fitted with Mighty Hornet I (勁蜂I型) attack UAVs.
The Kaui-Chi USV, officially designated the Small, Fast USV (小型快速無人艇), was shown to the public for the first time at TADTE 2025. According to NCSIST, the MND directed the institute to develop and procure a small coastal USV that can be deployed in large numbers: small, fast, stealthy, maneuverable, lethal and low-cost vessels intended to fight decisive battles along Taiwan’s coast and to conduct coordinated operations against enemy forces ashore. Under MND joint-operations guidance, the Kaui-Chi is designed to attack enemy ships by ramming them at high speed.
According to NCSIST, the Mighty Hornet I is classified as a loitering munition. It is man-portable and designed to conduct precision strikes against static and moving targets beyond visual range (BVR), with image-identification and tracking capabilities. The Mighty Hornet I has folding wings, is pneumatically launched, and offers about 15 minutes of endurance with an 8 km range.
