(Reuters) – U.S., Taiwanese and Japanese forces will share real-time data from reconnaissance drones to strengthen coordination, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the project.
Late in the Trump presidency, the U.S. announced more than $5 billion in arms sales to Taiwan, including four aerial drones worth $600 million, meant to upgrade the island’s capabilities and discourage a Chinese invasion.
The FT said Washington would allow those aircraft to integrate into the system that U.S. forces in the region and the Japanese Self-Defense Force will use.
The report added that this would enable the U.S. and its partners to simultaneously observe all the information gathered by the unmanned aerial vehicles.
(Reporting by Bharat Govind Gautam in Bengaluru; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
