Handlers lost contact with the locally developed Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) while it was flying near the mountains in Chiayi County's Jhuci Township.
The armed forces said it was currently searching for the whereabouts of the missing aircraft and had formed of a special investigative team. It was also probing the cause behind the loss of contact.
    The command has ordered all UAVs of the same model to be grounded pending thorough safety checks.
    It has also informed the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST), the military's top research unit who designed and produced the UAV, over the latest incident. 
    This incident is reportedly the third malfunction of the same model of UAV since it went into service, after similar incidents in 2012 and 2013.
    The drone, a Chung Shyang II, was developed by the NSCIST.
    The NCSIST unveiled a prototype of the UAV at the Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition in August, 2005, after beginning research into UAVs in 2002. 

Indigenous Chung Shyang II UAV

    The Chung Shyang II UAV can perform surveillance, reconnaissance, target acquisition, artillery spotting and battle damage assessment sorties, border patrols, and aerial reconnaissance, according to the NCSIST. 
    The Army purchased a batch of 32 Chung Shyang II UAVs in 2010 for NT$ 3.5 billion.
    The 32 UAVs were later deployed at Northern, Central Eastern and Southern Taiwan.
    The R.O.C. Army is the only branch of the military that purchased the Chung Shyang II. 
    The Marine Corps uses another, smaller version of the NCSIST-made Cardinal UAV.