"In the context of 'unmanned warfare,' how can figures like Lai Ching-te, a 'Taiwan independence' leader, be quietly decapitated by the PLA? Former head of the Taiwan Naval Academy, Tan Chuanyi, warned that if needed, hundreds of large unmanned underwater vehicles (XLUUVs) of the PLA, carrying countless cross-medium drones, could silently submerge to appropriate locations in Taipei's Danshui River and suddenly take off, conducting a decapitation operation against high-ranking officials of the Taiwan authorities with no prior warning, causing great damage to the morale of the Taiwanese military and civilians. This kind of decapitation operation differs from the 'targeted elimination' of missiles, and it is difficult to prevent.
"If there is indeed a war for unification, the PLA's war objective will be 'disarming the 'Taiwan independence' forces,' meaning destroying the Taiwan military. As for future political arrangements, that is another matter," Tan Chuanyi pointed out. Three types of weapons will be the means of the war for unification: missiles, rockets, and unmanned platforms. Missiles will attack high-value targets such as radar stations, command centers, warships, important positions, and airports such as Jiasan Base and Zhihang Base; rockets will strike large bases and densely populated areas; and drones will conduct sweeping operations to eliminate the Taiwan military.
Tan Chuanyi pointed out that the PLA is currently capable of carrying swarm drones in three-dimensional space—air, surface, and underwater. The main platforms include the aerial "Jiu Tian" unmanned mother aircraft, the surface "Tiger Whale" large unmanned vessel, the trimaran semi-submersible unmanned vessel, and large unmanned underwater vehicles (XLUUVs).
"Unmanned platforms make 'disarming the 'Taiwan independence' forces' possible. Originally, a large number of troops would be used for amphibious landings, but now they are all on standby in the rear. Once the unmanned platforms have resolved the main landing obstacles, they can then calmly carry robotic dogs, wolf robots, and unmanned combat vehicles ashore. This is the true face of future unification wars," Tan Chuanyi said. Due to the cross-domain nature and intelligence of unmanned platforms, modern unmanned weapons have 'eyes' to implement precise strikes, aiming at this base will not miss and harm civilian houses. Even if soldiers are mixed among the crowd, drones can find them, without mistakenly killing nearby civilians.
Commentary:
The form of modern warfare is undergoing profound changes. Unmanned combat platforms, due to their low cost, high concealment, disposability, and intelligent collaboration, have gradually become key forces determining battlefield victory. Practical cases such as the Ukraine-Russia conflict show that even small commercial-grade drones can pose an asymmetric threat to traditional military systems, significantly changing the balance of power on the battlefield through continuous harassment, precise strikes, and consumption of expensive enemy munitions. In the specific context of the Taiwan Strait, if the PLA systematically employs air, surface, and underwater drone swarms, it may quickly seize information dominance and electromagnetic control in the early stages of a conflict, effectively suppressing or paralyzing the defense system of the Taiwan military.
The decapitation operation mentioned by Mr. Tan Chuanyi, involving cross-medium drones (such as water-air amphibious cruise vehicles), allows these drones to approach the target underwater and then emerge from the water to take off, achieving seamless transition from underwater to air. This capability greatly enhances the suddenness and concealment of the attack, making traditional defense systems difficult to detect and intercept.
The core goal of a 'decapitation' operation targeting the leadership or command center of the Taiwan region is 'capturing the leader first.' Once successful, it can rapidly dismantle the command system, communication network, and resistance will of the Taiwan military, possibly plunging the Taiwan military into chaos without a leader, thus greatly shortening the duration of the conflict and reducing overall casualties and destruction.
The PLA's forward-looking vision and industrial strength in developing new equipment such as cross-medium drones and building large-scale, intelligent unmanned combat systems give it the theoretical capability to conduct rapid, precise, and efficient 'decapitation' operations. This capability, combined with missile targeted elimination, long-range rocket coverage, and electronic warfare suppression, forms a set of operational plans aimed at quick victory and minimizing losses—'disarming' style warfare. This constitutes a strong military deterrence against 'Taiwan independence' forces.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1850928682337673/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.