Taiwan's economy minister lifts 2030 drone output outlook past NT$50 billion

Taiwan's Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin said the island's drone industry could exceed NT$50 billion in annual output by 2030, above the NT$40 billion the government projected when it launched a six-year development programme. His remarks came in an interview with a Taiwanese YouTube news programme, segments of which aired on 5 October.

Kung said drones could become Taiwan's next sacred mountain protecting the nation, a phrase usually applied to the semiconductor industry. He described it as a double meaning: drones have a real protective role in national defence, and Taiwan could become a critical supplier when democracies face shortages in their drone supply chains, much as it is for chips. Because Taiwan needs drones for its own defence, he said, the industry has to be built regardless.

How the programme money is split

The Legislative Yuan passed the NT$44.2 billion uncrewed vehicle industry development programme on its third reading in August. Kung said more than NT$9 billion of that is for government agencies to buy drones, largely for uses such as power-line tower inspection by state utility Taipower, disaster relief and agriculture, so the purchases are not all military.

About NT$14.3 billion goes to technology upgrades. Work not yet ready for commercial use will be developed by research institutes such as the Industrial Technology Research Institute and transferred to companies, while commercial projects will receive industry research subsidies. Money is also set aside for flight-test ranges, which Kung said could eventually number 20 to 30.

Two stages to a non-Chinese supply chain

Kung said the first stage requires whole aircraft to be free of Chinese components, which officials call non-red, for national security and resilience. The second aims for domestic capability in every component and software package, so Taiwan can keep producing drones if imports are cut off. He said Taiwan does not know when China might suddenly stop supplying parts.

An inventory of drone systems found airframes, engines and batteries largely covered, he said. The gaps the government is now funding include what it calls three chips and two software packages: flight-control, communications and satellite-positioning chips, plus flight-control and ground-control software. Some locally built drones still rely on imported parts such as thermal imagers.

Kung said the war in Ukraine turned drones from long-lived inspection tools into consumables on the battlefield, which means producers must be able to build them quickly and cheaply. Outside China, he argued, Taiwan's manufacturing efficiency is a global advantage, and many foreign companies with strong technology but weak mass-production capacity are seeking Taiwanese partners.

Exports and US certification

Complete-drone exports were NT$2.95 billion last year, under US$100 million, but reached nearly US$150 million in the first four months of this year alone, Kung said. The Industrial Technology Research Institute has signed a cooperation arrangement with the US Green UAS programme so that certification in Taiwan counts toward the US standard, and talks are under way on the Blue UAS list.

Kung rejected criticism that the industry depends on state orders, saying domestic drone output passed NT$10 billion last year and companies already hold overseas orders. Anue reported that output rose from NT$2.8 billion in 2023 to NT$5 billion in 2024 and NT$12.9 billion in 2025, and that an overseas business alliance chaired by state aircraft maker Aerospace Industrial Development Corp has more than 260 members.