Sunday, 18 October 2026 · Taipei
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■Chinese state TV airs H-6K bombers with YJ-21 hypersonic anti-ship missiles under their wings■Taiwan's Hai Kun submarine penalties pass NT$60 million as delivery runs 321 days late■Taiwan air force and navy scramble as nine PLA aircraft and six warships operate around the island■Japan's defence ministry asks start-ups for cheap military drones built from Japanese parts■Tokyo floats a corporate tax rise as Japan's defence bill heads past 10 trillion yen■Japan moves to raise SDF pay as its forces fill only 88 percent of their posts■Chinese state TV airs H-6K bombers with YJ-21 hypersonic anti-ship missiles under their wings■Taiwan's Hai Kun submarine penalties pass NT$60 million as delivery runs 321 days late■Taiwan air force and navy scramble as nine PLA aircraft and six warships operate around the island■Japan's defence ministry asks start-ups for cheap military drones built from Japanese parts■Tokyo floats a corporate tax rise as Japan's defence bill heads past 10 trillion yen■Japan moves to raise SDF pay as its forces fill only 88 percent of their posts
A grey Chinese H-6K bomber with red star markings flying against an overcast sky
Cross-Strait

Chinese state TV airs H-6K bombers with YJ-21 hypersonic anti-ship missiles under their wings

Taiwanese reporting says the footage shows the missile settling into an air-launched role, while a retired general argues Taiwan's air defences can still intercept it.

TaiwanDefence · 52m ago · 3 min read

Top Stories

Taiwan's Hai Kun submarine on its cradle inside a shipyard hall, its bow painted in Taiwan's flag colours
Navy

Taiwan's Hai Kun submarine penalties pass NT$60 million as delivery runs 321 days late

TaiwanDefence · 1h ago · 3 min read

Bottom view of a Taiwan air force F-16 fighter flying over Hualien
Cross-Strait

Taiwan air force and navy scramble as nine PLA aircraft and six warships operate around the island

TaiwanDefence · 2h ago · 2 min read

A small black four-rotor Parrot quadcopter drone with a front camera lens resting on a white table
Indo-Pacific

Japan's defence ministry asks start-ups for cheap military drones built from Japanese parts

TaiwanDefence · 3h ago · 3 min read

Guards stand at the main gate of Japan's Ministry of Defense headquarters, with tall office buildings behind it under a blue sky
Indo-Pacific

Tokyo floats a corporate tax rise as Japan's defence bill heads past 10 trillion yen

TaiwanDefence · 4h ago · 3 min read

A Japanese soldier in green camouflage raises his hand as he leads a group of Japanese soldiers and US Marines standing in a hall
Indo-Pacific

Japan moves to raise SDF pay as its forces fill only 88 percent of their posts

TaiwanDefence · 5h ago · 3 min read

Cross-Strait

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A grey Chinese H-6K bomber with red star markings flying against an overcast sky
Cross-Strait

Chinese state TV airs H-6K bombers with YJ-21 hypersonic anti-ship missiles under their wings

Taiwanese reporting says the footage shows the missile settling into an air-launched role, while a retired general argues Taiwan's air defences can still intercept it.

TaiwanDefence · 52m ago · 3 min read

Bottom view of a Taiwan air force F-16 fighter flying over Hualien
Cross-Strait

Taiwan air force and navy scramble as nine PLA aircraft and six warships operate around the island

Five aircraft crossed the median line in the day to 6 a.m. on 17 October as Taipei answered with CAP fighters, navy ships and coastal missile systems.

TaiwanDefence · 2h ago · 2 min read

Cross-Strait

Taiwan coast guard shadows two Chinese coast guard ships in a Pratas standoff that ran into the night

21h ago

Cross-Strait

Taiwan watches for large-scale PLA drills as peak season nears

1d ago

Navy

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Taiwan's Hai Kun submarine on its cradle inside a shipyard hall, its bow painted in Taiwan's flag colours
Navy

Taiwan's Hai Kun submarine penalties pass NT$60 million as delivery runs 321 days late

The navy is booking a fine of about NT$190,000 a day against CSBC and will deduct the total from the builder's final payment once the prototype is handed over.

TaiwanDefence · 1h ago · 3 min read

Grey hull and deck crane of a Taiwanese navy minelaying vessel moored at a pier, with a sailor on deck and a small boat in the water behind
Navy

Taiwan's navy will hire fishing boats and civil aircraft to map its likely invasion beaches

The navy plans to send civilian survey firms with sonar and airborne lidar onto its red beaches, feeding a NT$1.25bn data centre for minelaying and submarine hunting.

TaiwanDefence · 16h ago · 3 min read

Navy

Taiwan's navy will wire air combat training pods into its four Keelung-class destroyers

2d ago

Navy

Taiwan's Hai Kun submarine begins deeper sea trials on its 25th outing

2d ago

Analysis & Commentary

All analysis →

TaiwanDefence

Taiwan's navy plans most of its 280 V-BAT drones as eyes for shore missile units, not warships

A 17 October 2026 report says 212 of the navy's 280 planned V-BATs will serve coastal missile units, making the buy a test of a radar-free kill chain.

TaiwanDefence

Formosat-8B is less a space PR moment than an ISR independence test

TASA says the second Formosat-8 bird ships to the US by year-end for a Q1 2027 SpaceX launch, just as Taiwan's signals office is still buying AI to mine foreign commercial satellite pictures for PLA hardware.

TaiwanDefence

Hai Kun's deep dive is not the hard part — funding the next seven boats is

On 16 October 2026 Liberty Times relayed experts arguing the prototype will likely pass deep tests while Legislative Yuan politics threaten the follow-on class.

Army

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A US soldier in camouflage and helmet aims a rifle-shaped drone jammer fitted with antennas over a yellow barrier outdoors
Army

Taiwan army tells lawmakers its failed counter-drone systems were also meant to guard the capital

A report to the legislature says the 26 radar-and-jammer sets failed three acceptance tests and were bound for the Taipei garrison and Tamsui River as well as outlying islands.

TaiwanDefence · 12h ago · 3 min read

Army

Lu Sheng 2 attackers drive from Kaohsiung into Miaoli in three days as Taiwan's defenders fall back

19h ago

Army

Taiwan army CM11 tank rides up onto Miaoli highway median after suspected brake failure

1d ago

Army

Taiwan's army trims artillery navigation buy as HIMARS and M109A7 bring their own

1d ago

Air Force

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Helmeted reservists in camouflage kneel with rifles behind barbed wire on grass while officials and officers watch from under a tent
Air Force

Taiwan air force keeps a reservist call-up on election day, telling 311 to vote before reporting

A venue clash left an Air Force guard battalion's reserve training starting on 28 November, Taiwan's local election day, so reservists may report until 8 pm.

TaiwanDefence · 14h ago · 2 min read

Air Force

Cabinet warns Songshan airport move would leave a critical gap in capital defence

2d ago

Air Force

Taiwan's Brave Eagle trainers logged 212 engine blade repairs, mostly blamed on runway dust

2d ago

Air Force

Taiwan's air force delays radar guard platoons to 2029 as China-free vehicle bid stalls

2d ago

Industry

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A missile climbs away from a launcher amid a large cloud of white smoke and orange flame on a grassy range
Industry

Lockheed pours $300m into Texas missile parts plant as Taiwan waits on Patriot deliveries

The Grand Prairie expansion feeds the PAC-3 MSE, THAAD and PrSM lines as the Pentagon pushes interceptor output towards 2,000 a year, while Taiwan's own Patriot order is still waiting.

TaiwanDefence · 1d ago · 3 min read

Industry

Thunder Tiger says it has delivered all 1,520 drones in its first Pentagon order

1d ago

Industry

Taiwan-US Mighty Hornet IV attack drone clears southern flight tests

1d ago

Industry

Taiwan's coast guard signs deal for US-designed Devil Ray T24 drone boats

2d ago

Indo-Pacific

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A small black four-rotor Parrot quadcopter drone with a front camera lens resting on a white table
Indo-Pacific

Japan's defence ministry asks start-ups for cheap military drones built from Japanese parts

The first call under a new start-up scheme seeks attack drones costing under 5 million yen and interceptors for Shahed-type threats.

TaiwanDefence · 3h ago · 3 min read

Indo-Pacific

Tokyo floats a corporate tax rise as Japan's defence bill heads past 10 trillion yen

4h ago

Indo-Pacific

Japan moves to raise SDF pay as its forces fill only 88 percent of their posts

5h ago

Indo-Pacific

Chinese warships, drones and a patrol plane gather at Scarborough Shoal around a Philippine frigate

6h ago