Defense autonomy at risk if drone budget is stalled - Taipei Times

• By Chen Yun and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer

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Forcing drone procurement into the annual budget cycle could cripple Taiwan's defense autonomy and deter the domestic drone industry from investing in crucial "non-red" supply chains, a national security official said yesterday, following a breakdown in negotiations over a special budget for uncrewed systems.

Earlier in the day, the Legislative Yuan's Economics Committee failed to reconcile 14 versions of a special budget bill to fund the domestic development of surveillance and combat drones.

The opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People's Party disagreed with the Executive Yuan placing large uncrewed vehicle orders in a special budget and prioritizing military systems over those for civilian use.

Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times

The national security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that high-volume government orders, not empty platitudes, are needed for Taiwan to develop its drone-making industry.

Drone technology is rapidly advancing and a generation of uncrewed systems could become obsolete in a little more than a month, they said.

Maintaining the tempo of research and development to sustain battlefield relevance requires the industry to have confidence in government funding, which can only be provided through high-volume orders, rather than through annual budgets that fluctuate, the official said.

Under the circumstances, it comes as no surprise that big contracts and a focus on military applications have become the global paradigm for developing drone technology, they said.

Washington's Replicator Initiative to obtain thousands of low-cost autonomous systems, which has counterparts in Japan, South Korea and the EU, exemplify that approach, the official said.

Orders for coastal surveillance drones, coastal attack drones and maritime loitering munitions are carefully designed to provide the military with mission-critical capabilities, they said.

Altering the number of systems in the orders or changing the delivery timetable would cause worrisome delays in the government's force-building plans, they added.

The government designed the military contracts for drones to focus on stability and concentration of effort, which include acquiring weapon systems, maintenance and repair capabilities, as well as institutional knowledge, the official said.

The Cabinet's plan to buy drones with a special budget is intended to establish the capability to mass-produce uncrewed systems without crowding out other essential government programs, they said.

High-volume manufacturing is a crucial aspect of drone warfare, given the scale needed in wartime, they said, adding that Taiwan especially needs self-sufficient drone-making capability to counter a potential naval blockade by China.

National security and economic interests are aligned on drones, instead of being in competition as the opposition party suggests, the official added.