Taiwan Navy hires civilian boats and planes to chart potential Chinese invasion beaches

In a novel effort to improve coastal defence, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense announced that civilian fishing boats and light aircraft will be hired to perform precise hydrographic and terrain mapping of up to 20 potential Chinese amphibious landing zones, known as "red beaches." The vessels will carry advanced multibeam echo sounders to chart shallow waters, while aircraft will use LiDAR to generate detailed 3-D models of beach topography above and below the waterline.

Private survey companies will gather the raw measurements, which will then be handed to the Naval Meteorological and Oceanographic Office for processing, noise reduction and integration into military planning. The data will guide the placement of mines and other obstacles to block PLA landing craft and hovercraft. Officials emphasized that only non-sensitive data leaves the civilian contractors, safeguarding against intelligence leaks. The programme reflects Taiwan's shift toward asymmetric capabilities inspired by the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit.