TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — An Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF) fired a Wan Chien air-to-ground cruise missile for the first time in an exercise earlier in the week, reports said Saturday (Sept. 24).

Since China conducted large-scale military maneuvers close to Taiwan in the wake of United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Aug. 2-3 visit, the military has been stepping up the pace of its maneuvers.

On Wednesday (Sept. 21), an IDF jet equipped with two Wan Chien missiles flew out on a mission and successfully fired one of the projectiles, the Liberty Times reported. The subsonic cruise missile is developed by one of Taiwan’s top weapons makers, the military-run National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST).

The missile used in Wednesday’s exercise was reportedly one of the first of a mass-produced batch, while Wan Chien missiles previously shown to the public were just part of a limited early series, reports said.

The NCSIST will produce 50 of the missiles per year, as part of a NT$12.5 billion ($393.26 million) budget which also covers the construction of three storage sites. While the missile’s reach is 200 kilometers, an upgraded version being researched would be able to hit airports and other targets up to 400 km away, the report said.