SINGAPORE — The Taiwan-based company Tron Future has unveiled an AI-assisted system that guides anti-armor rockets, which could help to accelerate the training of civilians and soldiers during a war, according to the chief executive.
The Singapore Airshow, organized here from Feb 3-8, marks the first time the T-Scope has been shown overseas. The device was designed specifically for unguided munitions and uses a variety of sensors and AI to instantly calculate and predict the projectile flight paths, taking into account environmental and physical factors.
“What we’re doing rather than placing sensors on the rocket itself, is we are putting them into an AI-driven guidance kit, which essentially transforms unguided rockets into precision-guided munitions to improve their accuracy for cheaper,” Yu-Jiu Wang, the CEO of Tron Future, told Defense News.
Taiwan has been gradually building up its inventory of anti-tank weapons, including an unknown number of unguided rocket-propelled grenades, to deter potential attacks.
Wang said they were approached by one of the country’s leading defense institutes to develop a device that could help quickly mobilize personnel, if needed.
“By combining automated complex ballistic calculations and displaying a live corrected aiming point, T.Scope allows soldiers to achieve marksman-level proficiency within a very compressed training timeframe,” the company’s boss added. “It would allow for combat readiness even under limited preparation.”
Although it has already been tested, the company is hopeful that it will receive army certification before the end of the year.
Further testing has already been planned to see how it performs in shallow water, per a request from the undisclosed defense institute.
The National Chung-Shan Institute of Science Technology, or NCSIST, is largely regarded as the leading research and development center in the defense sector in Taiwan. It focuses on designing and producing indigenous weapons, including missiles and unmanned systems.
Tron Future’s counter-drone radars have been used by the Taiwanese Army for several years. The company has also been assisting the government in integrating counter-drone technologies with Taiwan’s low Earth orbit satellites through its T.SpaceRouter user terminals to increase the island’s communication resilience.
Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. She covers a wide range of topics related to military procurement and international security, and specializes in reporting on the aviation sector. She is based in Milan, Italy.
