Overview

• Taiwan’s National Chung-Shan Institute hosted a USV showcase in Yilan featuring vessels like Lungteh’s Black Tide, which can exceed 43 knots for intelligence, surveillance and one-way strike missions
• The government sealed a long-term partnership with U.S.-German firm Auterion to integrate drone swarming and autonomy software proven in Ukraine into both aerial and maritime platforms
• Auterion’s CEO projects the technology could be deployed in millions of drones over several years, creating hundreds of millions of dollars in value for Taiwan’s defenses
• President Lai Ching-te aims to make Taiwan an Asian drone production hub, but high non-China component costs, limited domestic orders and sparse foreign contracts constrain annual output of 8,000 to 10,000 units against a 2028 target of 180,000
• The focus on uncrewed systems and mobile weapons reflects Taiwan’s shift toward asymmetric warfare tactics to counteract China’s superior numbers and military pressure