Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense has for the first time released detailed spending figures and quantities for its massive NT$1.25 trillion ($38.5 billion) special arms procurement program, underscoring a major push to bolster asymmetric warfare capabilities.
The declassified report, made public after Defense Minister Wellington Koo (顧立雄) briefed lawmakers in a closed-door session, blacked out sensitive operational details while revealing seven broad procurement categories. Air defense, anti-ballistic missile and anti-armor systems received the largest single allocation at NT$550 billion ($16.9 billion).
Drone Swarm Strategy Takes Center Stage
A standout feature of the plan is Taiwan's dramatic expansion of unmanned systems, budgeted at NT$335 billion ($10.3 billion). The military intends to acquire nearly 292,000 drones of various types and 1,320 domestically produced suicide unmanned surface vessels, known as “loitering munition boats,” designed for swarm operations.
Breakdown of the drone fleet includes 32 domestically developed Ruiying II maritime tactical search drones from the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, 1,446 coastal surveillance drones, and 288,200 coastal attack drones. The plan also calls for 280 locally purchased vertical-takeoff-and-landing smart drones, plus 478 Altius-600M and 1,554 Altius-700M strike variants capable of engaging armored targets.
To counter enemy drone saturation attacks, the ministry will procure 635 man-portable counter-drone systems that can detect threats at up to four kilometers and jam them at distances of two kilometers while simultaneously disrupting multiple targets. Details of a separate soft- and hard-kill mixed counter-drone system remain classified.
Precision Firepower and U.S. Systems
The first two categories focus on artillery and long-range strike weapons that largely align with previously announced U.S. arms packages. These include 60 M109A7 self-propelled howitzers with associated ammunition and support vehicles at approximately NT$81 billion ($2.5 billion), and 82 HIMARS multiple-launch rocket systems budgeted at roughly NT$160 billion ($4.9 billion).
Missile Defenses and Anti-Armor Weapons
Within the NT$550 billion ($16.9 billion) air-defense category, only a handful of items are public. They comprise two domestically produced Qiang Gong (Strong Bow) high-altitude anti-tactical ballistic missile systems, along with 128 missiles commissioned from the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology. The plan also includes U.S.-supplied anti-armor missiles: 70 Javelin systems with 1,050 rounds and 24 TOW-2B systems with 1,545 rounds.
Building Resilience and Industrial Capacity
The program allocates NT$10 billion ($308 million) for artificial-intelligence-assisted command systems and C5ISR equipment, including commercial procurement of 120,191 units of Taiwan Tactical Network (TTN) and Team Awareness Kit (TAK) tablets, phones and related devices across 10 categories.
Another NT$50 billion ($1.5 billion) will expand domestic weapons production, funding new or upgraded lines for 14 critical items such as 120 mm tank shell assembly, 105 mm and 155 mm gun barrels, bullet primers and chemical protective masks. Ministry officials noted that existing production funds can only maintain current operations and cannot support the necessary surge in capacity.
The final NT$64 billion ($2.0 billion) category, covering joint Taiwan-U.S. development and procurement programs, lists four major items — all redacted in the public version of the report. （Related： Xi Jinping Avoids "Unification" in Rare KMT Summit — Cheng Li-wun Speaks Plainly of Different Systems ｜ Latest ）
