Chien Hsiang

Chien Hsiang overview

NCSIST developed and publicly presented Chien Hsiang as an anti-radiation loitering munition intended to detect, track, and destroy enemy radar installations and air-defense systems. Taiwan publicly unveiled the system around 2017 and reported operational service from 2022. Publicly circulated descriptions identify a delta-wing configuration, an approximately 2-metre wingspan, a turbojet, speeds of up to 600 km/h, and range beyond 1,000 km; the figures are open-source or program claims rather than a current NCSIST data sheet.

Public descriptions say Chien Hsiang uses a passive radar-homing seeker and a high-explosive fragmentation warhead. They also describe loitering if no target is acquired and parachute recovery in some configurations. NCSIST material and reporting describe mobile launchers and salvo employment for suppression of enemy air defenses, but the seeker behavior, recovery option, and payload can vary by configuration and should not be assumed for every round.

The munition's core value is its reported passive seeker and expendable, salvo-launch concept: it can force an emitting radar to choose between shutting down and losing coverage or continuing to radiate and becoming targetable. Public descriptions of return or recovery modes vary by configuration, so they should not be generalized to every round. Earlier NCSIST displays establish the mission concept; they do not disclose current inventory, software, or electronic-protection performance.

Recent Taiwanese defense coverage continues to identify Chien Hsiang as part of the island's asymmetric counter-intervention toolkit, but NCSIST and Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense have not released a new public 2025–2026 performance sheet. The system's anti-radiation mission and broad production intent are established by earlier official disclosures; the frequently repeated range, speed, inventory, and seeker-improvement figures should be treated as open-source estimates unless attributed to an official release. Its 2026 status is therefore continued deployment and modernization within a wider Taiwanese drone and counter-drone effort, not a newly announced combat use.

Armament

Anti-radiation seeker warhead (integral)

Development and operational timeline

1. Aug 2017NCSIST publicly unveiled the Chien Hsiang loitering-munition prototype
2. Oct 2019Taiwanese reporting described Chien Hsiang live-fire testing against radar targets
3. May 2021Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense reportedly ordered Chien Hsiang mass production
4. Sep 2022Taiwanese official and defense reporting described Chien Hsiang entering ROCAF service
5. Jul 2024NCSIST was reported to have announced an improved seeker variant for multi-target engagement
6. Sep 2026Taiwan continues to treat Chien Hsiang as an operational asymmetric capability; no new public official performance sheet has been released