As China looms, Taiwan makes more drones for defense and the US military

Taiwan is accelerating military drone production and exports as it seeks to deter a potential invasion by China, with the Ministry of National Defense proposing a $6.6 billion budget for domestically made systems [1]. The budget proposal, presented on June 18, would fund the purchase of more than 208,000 coastal attack drones, over 1,400 coastal reconnaissance drones, and 1,320 uncrewed surface vessels between 2026 and 2031 [1]. The current Taiwanese arsenal includes 5,000 US-made attack drones and domestically produced models [1]. In early June, Taiwanese soldiers fired Altius-600 loitering munitions, made by a subsidiary of the US company Anduril Industries, at offshore targets during exercises [1]. The spending plan arrives amid heightened cross-strait tensions. The United States, which switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, maintains unofficial ties with Taiwan under the Taiwan Relations Act and remains its main arms provider [3]. The US has viewed Taiwan as geostrategically important given its location in the first island chain [3]. Taiwanese companies are also pursuing international sales. Taiwan Premier Cho Jung-tai announced on April 30 that the island exported $115 million in fully assembled drones between January and March 2026, surpassing the $93 million in total drone exports for all of 2025 [1]. Firms such as Thunder Tiger have pitched their technology to the US military and European buyers as alternatives to Chinese-made drones [1]. The global proliferation of one-way attack drones has reshaped modern battlefields. Iran's Shahed 136, used extensively by Russia against Ukrainian infrastructure, prompted Ukraine and the US to develop their own analogs [5]. In December 2025, the US military announced it had reverse-engineered the Shahed 136 to create the LUCAS drone, deploying a squadron in the Middle East [5]. The 2024 Lebanon war also saw Israel and Hezbollah employ drone warfare extensively [4]. Taiwan's buildup mirrors a broader international trend toward mass-produced, lower-cost unmanned systems.