A prominent Washington think tank is urging Taiwan to transform the Taiwan Strait into an unmanned "hellscape" to deter a potential Chinese invasion. However, domestic political gridlock over a massive special defense budget threatens to derail the military's ambitious plans to procure thousands of drones and unmanned surface vessels. （Related： AI Agent OpenClaw Sparks Workplace Revolution in China ｜ Latest ）
The 'Hellscape' Blueprint
The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) recently published a report titled "Taiwan's Hellscape: Rethinking Asymmetric Defense." The report builds on a concept introduced by U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Adm. Samuel Paparo in June 2024, which draws direct inspiration from Ukraine's effective use of low-cost drones against Russia's larger conventional military.
To successfully create this "hellscape," CNAS recommends that Taiwan mass-produce and procure large numbers of unmanned systems, including "kamikaze" drones, unmanned surface vessels (USVs), unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), and counter-drone systems.
Budget Cuts Threaten Commercial Procurement
Taiwan's military is already aligned with this asymmetric strategy. Beyond a special budget proposal to acquire 200,000 aerial drones, the Ministry of National Defense plans to procure approximately 1,300 unmanned boats.
However, the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) has proposed a version of the special defense bill that only approves government-to-government U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) via formal Letters of Offer and Acceptance. By eliminating commercial sales from the budget, the KMT's version effectively blocks the domestic and commercial acquisitions required to build the "hellscape" that the U.S. and Taiwan's military hope to deploy.
Domestic Shipbuilding and U.S. Software Integration
For an island democracy, naval warfare is an inevitable component of any cross-strait conflict. To prepare, the military-run National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) hosted an unmanned boat competition in June 2025. The event drew participation from domestic shipbuilders, academic institutions, all military branches, the Coast Guard Administration, and officials from the American Institute in Taiwan.
According to informed sources, NCSIST has allocated NT$28 billion (approximately $860 million) in special budget funding to acquire small suicide USVs. The program emphasizes a 100% domestic hardware build paired with mature foreign software.
During the June competition, NCSIST signed a memorandum of cooperation with U.S.-based Auterion to integrate its operating system and AI drone swarm combat platform into Taiwan's next-generation unmanned vehicles.
Strategic Benefits of the Partnership
Defense officials indicate this hybrid approach—domestic hardware and imported software—offers several critical advantages for Taiwan's defense and industrial base.
Most importantly, utilizing mature foreign technology accelerates procurement goals under the special budget and elevates the competitiveness of Taiwan's defense industry.
Standardizing software integration also reduces the training burden on military personnel, who will only need to master a single control module rather than learning multiple disparate systems.
Finally, small unmanned boats offer better investment returns for domestic shipbuilders compared to traditional large surface ships or submarines.
Sources emphasize that these unmanned boats are not limited strictly to suicide attacks; they are capable of carrying diverse payloads to execute a wide variety of combat missions based on operational needs.
