The Cardinal, is a family of small unmanned aerial vehicles made by the

National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST; ) is a Taiwanese state owned corporation, formerly part of the Republic of China Ministry of National Defense's Armaments Bureau, which is active in the development, manufactur ...

Variants

Cardinal I

The Cardinal I was the initial prototype of the Cardinal.

Cardinal II

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 The Paris Air Show (french: Salon international de l'aéronautique et de l'espace de Paris-Le Bourget, Salon du Bourget) is a trade fair and air show held in odd years at Paris–Le Bourget Airport in north Paris, France. Organized by the French ...

. In service with

Republic of China Marine Corps The Republic of China Marine Corps (ROCMC; ), also known colloquially as the Taiwan Marine Corps, is the amphibious arm of the Republic of China Navy (ROCN) responsible for amphibious combat, counter-landing and reinforcement of the areas under th ...

and

Republic of China Army The Republic of China Army (ROCA), previously known as the Chinese Nationalist Army or Nationalist Revolutionary Army and unofficially as the Taiwanese Army, is the largest branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces. An estimated 80% of th ...

. Other than military missions the Cardinal II can be used for civil

remote sensing Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon without making physical contact with the object, in contrast to in situ or on-site observation. The term is applied especially to acquiring information about Eart ...

and disaster relief missions. 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. The remote control flight range is 8km.

Fire Cardinal

In 2019 NCSIST exhibited the Fire Cardinal for the first time at the

Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition The Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition (TADTE; ) is a biennial defense exhibition held in Taiwan. TADTE is organized by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA). It is held biennially. Repeat exhibitors include both loca ...

. It was referred to by NCSIST as an "air-to-ground assault" UAV, what is more commonly known as a

loitering munition A loitering munition (also known as a suicide droneLoitering Muniti ...

. 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.

Specifications (Cardinal II)

References