Defense Special Budget Excludes Unmanned Aircraft, Experts: Impacts Key Asymmetric Warfare Capabilities
Taiwan's special defense budget has excluded unmanned aircraft, leading experts to warn of severe impacts on critical asymmetric warfare capabilities, which are considered indispensable for future defense.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 13, 2026 at 14:25
- 🔍 Collected: May 13, 2026 at 14:32 (6 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 14, 2026 at 02:41 (12h 8m after Collected)
Central News Agency (CNA) correspondent You Kai-hsiang reported from Taipei on the 13th that the Legislative Yuan has passed the 780 billion New Taiwan Dollar special defense budget, but it does not include unmanned aircraft and vessels. Scholars Su Tzu-yun and Chiang Hsin-piao from the Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR) pointed out today that unmanned vehicles are crucial for implementing the "UAS air-sea battle" concept proposed by the US military in 2012, where drones and unmanned boats cooperate to precisely strike enemy main landing forces and build three-dimensional firepower, becoming key asymmetric forces in coastal operations.
On May 8th, the Legislative Yuan passed the third reading of the "Special Act on the Procurement Plan for Safeguarding National Security and Strengthening Asymmetric Warfare Capabilities," totaling 780 billion New Taiwan Dollars. It stipulates a budget ceiling of 300 billion NTD for the first batch of military procurement offer letters and 480 billion NTD for the second batch. However, commercial procurement and commissioned production items related to unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned surface vessels, Taiwan Tactical Network (TTN), Tactical Assault Kit (TAK), and Strong Bow missiles were not included.
Regarding unmanned aircraft and vessels, INDSR scholar Su Tzu-yun, a think tank for the Ministry of National Defense, stated in an interview with CNA that from an application perspective, unmanned aerial vehicles can serve as battlefield monitors, performing detection, discovery, targeting, and guidance missions. On the offensive side, in addition to destroying enemy main ship sensor systems or directly striking small vessels, they also possess the potential tactical benefit of "offsetting enemy high-value missiles." By using a large number of low-cost drones to induce enemy interception, it can not only deplete their air defense capabilities but also pave the way for the national army's long-range missiles, achieving highly efficient source interdiction.
For nearshore defense, Su Tzu-yun analyzed that if enemy forces attempt to land, the 5 to 10 kilometer coastal zone is the operational range for combat-level small unmanned aerial vehicles. Enemy forces would face dense swarm attacks from a large number of small UAVs. The national army would combine dense firepower, precise drone strikes, and anti-tank missiles to construct a three-layered three-dimensional firepower, completely blocking the enemy from the beachhead.
Furthermore, the development of unmanned surface vessels is also critical. Su Tzu-yun stated that in the future, unmanned vessels can rely on their stealth characteristics to individually attack large enemy ships, or implement the "UAS air-sea battle" concept proposed by the US military in 2012, with drones and unmanned vessels cooperating to precisely strike enemy main landing forces.
Su Tzu-yun also pointed out that the special budget focuses on allocating the total amount, and the product specifications delivered in each phase will change with technological advancements. He emphasized that in the face of urgent current defense threats, special budgets are superior to general annual budgets in procurement efficiency, and long-term orders can provide clear market signals to the industry, allowing manufacturers to foresee demand and invest in technology R&D.
Su Tzu-yun specifically mentioned that international political trust is the core of developing the unmanned aircraft industry. With the US promoting the "Blue Skies for Taiwan Act of 2026," the legal aspect will strongly support Taiwan-US unmanned aircraft production cooperation. He warned that if the relevant special budget is rashly cut, Taiwan's businesses might lose a trillion-dollar business opportunity to connect with the global "non-red supply chain," impacting the industry's long-term competitiveness.
Chiang Hsin-piao, former commander of a naval fleet squadron and scholar at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, told CNA that unmanned vessels possess the advantages of high stealth and low cost, reducing personnel risk and forming a "shark swarm" strike, which is key to asymmetric power in coastal operations. Despite facing limitations such as seakeeping in rough seas and mine-laying capabilities, through "human-machine collaboration" and deployment from motherships, their intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and strike capabilities can be effectively expanded.
Chiang Hsin-piao analyzed that compared to traditional warships, unmanned surface vessels (USVs) have the advantages of high "expendability" and strong stealth. When a large number of USVs gather, they can perform strike functions similar to drone swarms, posing a threat to enemy fleets. In addition, if equipped with thermal imaging sensors (FLIR) and radar, USVs can act as mobile sea sentinels, greatly extending their intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance range.
Regarding application, Chiang Hsin-piao frankly stated that some views that USVs can perform mine-sweeping or anti-submarine missions are "overestimated." Since mine-laying requires large loading space and mine-sweeping requires complex electronic equipment, at present, suicide USVs are still the most compliant with the low-cost, high-return nature, and can also serve as decoys. Speaking of technical challenges, sea conditions are the biggest limiting factor for USVs. Limited by tonnage, USVs have insufficient seakeeping in harsh sea conditions, and their detection and perception capabilities also have limits.
Regarding future development directions, Chiang Hsin-piao suggested that "human-machine collaboration" combat capabilities should be established, with large motherships carrying multiple small USVs. This would not only solve endurance issues but also achieve greater synergistic effects than individual nearshore operations. (Edited by Zhai Sijia) 1150513
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On May 8th, the Legislative Yuan passed the third reading of the "Special Act on the Procurement Plan for Safeguarding National Security and Strengthening Asymmetric Warfare Capabilities," totaling 780 billion New Taiwan Dollars. It stipulates a budget ceiling of 300 billion NTD for the first batch of military procurement offer letters and 480 billion NTD for the second batch. However, commercial procurement and commissioned production items related to unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned surface vessels, Taiwan Tactical Network (TTN), Tactical Assault Kit (TAK), and Strong Bow missiles were not included.
Regarding unmanned aircraft and vessels, INDSR scholar Su Tzu-yun, a think tank for the Ministry of National Defense, stated in an interview with CNA that from an application perspective, unmanned aerial vehicles can serve as battlefield monitors, performing detection, discovery, targeting, and guidance missions. On the offensive side, in addition to destroying enemy main ship sensor systems or directly striking small vessels, they also possess the potential tactical benefit of "offsetting enemy high-value missiles." By using a large number of low-cost drones to induce enemy interception, it can not only deplete their air defense capabilities but also pave the way for the national army's long-range missiles, achieving highly efficient source interdiction.
For nearshore defense, Su Tzu-yun analyzed that if enemy forces attempt to land, the 5 to 10 kilometer coastal zone is the operational range for combat-level small unmanned aerial vehicles. Enemy forces would face dense swarm attacks from a large number of small UAVs. The national army would combine dense firepower, precise drone strikes, and anti-tank missiles to construct a three-layered three-dimensional firepower, completely blocking the enemy from the beachhead.
Furthermore, the development of unmanned surface vessels is also critical. Su Tzu-yun stated that in the future, unmanned vessels can rely on their stealth characteristics to individually attack large enemy ships, or implement the "UAS air-sea battle" concept proposed by the US military in 2012, with drones and unmanned vessels cooperating to precisely strike enemy main landing forces.
Su Tzu-yun also pointed out that the special budget focuses on allocating the total amount, and the product specifications delivered in each phase will change with technological advancements. He emphasized that in the face of urgent current defense threats, special budgets are superior to general annual budgets in procurement efficiency, and long-term orders can provide clear market signals to the industry, allowing manufacturers to foresee demand and invest in technology R&D.
Su Tzu-yun specifically mentioned that international political trust is the core of developing the unmanned aircraft industry. With the US promoting the "Blue Skies for Taiwan Act of 2026," the legal aspect will strongly support Taiwan-US unmanned aircraft production cooperation. He warned that if the relevant special budget is rashly cut, Taiwan's businesses might lose a trillion-dollar business opportunity to connect with the global "non-red supply chain," impacting the industry's long-term competitiveness.
Chiang Hsin-piao, former commander of a naval fleet squadron and scholar at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, told CNA that unmanned vessels possess the advantages of high stealth and low cost, reducing personnel risk and forming a "shark swarm" strike, which is key to asymmetric power in coastal operations. Despite facing limitations such as seakeeping in rough seas and mine-laying capabilities, through "human-machine collaboration" and deployment from motherships, their intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and strike capabilities can be effectively expanded.
Chiang Hsin-piao analyzed that compared to traditional warships, unmanned surface vessels (USVs) have the advantages of high "expendability" and strong stealth. When a large number of USVs gather, they can perform strike functions similar to drone swarms, posing a threat to enemy fleets. In addition, if equipped with thermal imaging sensors (FLIR) and radar, USVs can act as mobile sea sentinels, greatly extending their intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance range.
Regarding application, Chiang Hsin-piao frankly stated that some views that USVs can perform mine-sweeping or anti-submarine missions are "overestimated." Since mine-laying requires large loading space and mine-sweeping requires complex electronic equipment, at present, suicide USVs are still the most compliant with the low-cost, high-return nature, and can also serve as decoys. Speaking of technical challenges, sea conditions are the biggest limiting factor for USVs. Limited by tonnage, USVs have insufficient seakeeping in harsh sea conditions, and their detection and perception capabilities also have limits.
Regarding future development directions, Chiang Hsin-piao suggested that "human-machine collaboration" combat capabilities should be established, with large motherships carrying multiple small USVs. This would not only solve endurance issues but also achieve greater synergistic effects than individual nearshore operations. (Edited by Zhai Sijia) 1150513
Choose to stand with facts, every sponsorship from you is the power to protect press freedom.
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The text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, or publicly transmitted and utilized without authorization.