Taiwan Plans Shift to Affordable High-Volume Drone Systems

Raymond Greene, director of the American Institute in Taiwan, told a drone forum in Taichung on July 2 that Taiwan needs a “hornet’s nest” of air, surface and subsurface drones to deter conflict. He described drones as a “game-changing opportunity” to strengthen the island’s security and reinforce regional peace.

Greene said the United States and Taiwan could anchor “democratic” drone production and bolster the collective deterrence of the free world.

He noted that drones have already boosted defenders facing overwhelming odds in Ukraine. A SeaShark 800 sea drone developed by Thunder Tiger was displayed at a separate sea drone event in Yilan the same week. Greene’s remarks followed President William Lai Ching-te’s July 1 statement that building asymmetric combat capabilities is a national defense project that is a race against time.

Taiwan’s opposition-controlled parliament approved two-thirds of the $40 billion in extra defense spending requested by Lai in May, restricting the funds to US arms purchases. The government later proposed a new 210 billion Taiwan dollars ($6.59 billion) package to acquire surveillance, coastal attack and small unmanned surface drones through 2031.

The Kuomintang this week offered its own drone legislation that would cap total spending at 240 billion Taiwan dollars ($7.5 billion) over six years and limit annual outlays to 40 billion Taiwan dollars ($1.25 billion).

The opposition plan would draw from the main budget rather than a special budget. A senior US military official said in May that Washington had placed a $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan on hold to preserve munitions for the US-Israel war against Iran. Lai rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims over Taiwan.