ANKARA

Taiwan received the first batch of the US's Altius-600M attack drones, the island's Defense Minister Wellington Koo has confirmed late Tuesday.

The ministry said Wellington met with Palmer Luckey, the founder of Anduril Industries, which manufactures the drones, and thanked him for the delivery of the first batch.

"This project, initiated last year, achieved rapid delivery of the first batch this year," said the minister, according to a joint statement.

Wellington emphasized that, given the current "severe threat environment," the Defense Ministry continues to plan and procure surveillance and attack drones to meet defense operation needs.

The Altius-600M can be launched from various platforms, including land, air, and sea vehicles. It is capable of hovering for up to four hours, covering distances of up to 440 kilometers (273 miles). The drone can scout battlefields, relay communications, resist electronic warfare, and carry high-explosive anti-tank missiles.

Last month, the official media outlet Focus Taiwan reported that Taiwan's military plans to procure around 50,000 drones in the next two years.

On Tuesday, Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te said that Taipei's defense spending will exceed 3% of its $815 billion GDP to boost the island’s self-defense capabilities.

Lai’s pledge to boost defense spending comes as a US Congressional Research Service report revealed that the US executive branch had notified Congress of over $28 billion in weapons sales to Taiwan between 2015 and 2025.

* Writing by Islamuddin Sajid