Taichung Mayor Lu: Drone industry can become Taiwan's next 'sacred mountain'

(Central News Agency, reporter Su Muchun, Taichung, June 5) Taichung City Mayor Lu Shiow-yen stated that the development of the unmanned vehicle industry aligns with national needs, helps drive industrial upgrading and economic growth in Taichung, and she is optimistic about the drone industry becoming Taiwan's most important 'national champion industry' (huguo shenshan) for industrial production.

She said that regarding the government's overall budget planning, she recommends that military purchases be placed under a special budget, while commercial purchases and commissioned manufacturing can be included in next year's annual budget. This ensures stable investment in policies and resources, enhances transparency through complete budget documents and congressional oversight mechanisms, and promotes long-term, sustainable industrial development.

The Taichung City Government issued a press release on June 5 stating that Michael Robbins, CEO of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), accompanied by Janée Pierre-Louis, Commercial Section Chief of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Taipei Office, visited the city government and was received by Mayor Lu. The two sides exchanged views on drone development trends, technology R&D, and industrial cooperation.

Mayor Lu said that Taichung possesses advantages in key industries such as precision machinery, semiconductors, aerospace, and optical sensing. Its related technologies and manufacturing capabilities are globally competitive, making it an important base for developing the drone and unmanned vehicle industry.

She stated that if in the future it can combine US technological R&D capabilities with Taiwan's hardware manufacturing strength, and continue to deepen exchanges and cooperation, it will help the industry rapidly expand its scale and meet global market demands.

Robbins stated that the development of the drone industry cannot rely solely on natural market growth; it requires policy support and market demand to drive further expansion of the industrial scale and supply chain network. He praised Mayor Lu's support for the drone industry and noted that AUVSI has already partnered with the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) to promote the 'Green Unmanned Aircraft Systems (Green UAS)' program in Taiwan, enhancing the international market competitiveness of US-Taiwan cooperative drone production.

Robbins said that AUVSI's promotion of the Green UAS cooperation case outside the US for the first time is a significant milestone. He stated that this visit aims to deepen exchanges and gain a further understanding of Taichung's industrial development achievements, and he was deeply impressed by Taichung's technological and manufacturing capabilities, overall development, and innovation energy. (Editor: Li Mingzong) 1150605