About DSET Drone Newsletter:

DSET’s National Security Program publishes a biweekly drone newsletter. It reviews a curated selection of the most noteworthy domestic and international sources, providing insights into the development of Taiwan’s drone industry and the implications of global uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) trends for Taiwan.

This Issue’s Drone Highlights:

  1. DSET updates: Over the past two weeks, DSET engaged with two Ukrainian delegations visiting Taiwan, underscoring the importance of Taiwan–Ukraine drone cooperation. Denmark’s Berlingske also covered the delegations and cited DSET’s research.
  2. Taiwan’s Special Defense Budget bill remains stalled: The bill has entered cross-party negotiations, with major parties still divided. The Ministry of National Defense for the first time outlined its UAV operational concept across five operational phases.
  3. U.S. congressional delegation and new drone bill: A U.S. Senate delegation visited Taiwan and toured NCSIST, while four other members of Congress introduced the Blue Skies for Taiwan Act to bring Taiwanese drone systems into the U.S. Blue UAS framework. 
  4. PIPIR moves to set drone standards: The second meeting of the U.S.-led Partnership for Indo-Pacific Industrial Resilience (PIPIR) focused on common drone standards. Although Taiwan is not a formal member, it was invited for a second time as an advisor and could benefit from the supply chain.
  5. Record Russian drone strike: Russia’s record-breaking aerial assault on Ukraine from March 23 to 24, involving 999 drones, highlighted the importance of a multi-layered defense model and innovative counter-drone technologies.
  6. Poland’s counter-drone plan: Poland is using EU loans to advance Europe’s first large-scale anti-drone shield, while Taiwan is also stepping up efforts to build its counter-UAS sector.
  7. U.S. and UK focus on underwater drone threats: The U.S. and UK have launched the Robotic Exclusion and Engagement Framework (REEF) to bilaterally develop technologies for countering uncrewed underwater vehicles. In the Indo-Pacific, China’s push to deploy maritime autonomous systems is raising concern in Taiwan and the Philippines.

(Read the full newsletter on DSET’s website here.)

DSET Update: Hosting Two Ukrainian Delegations and Interviewed by Denmark’s Berlingske

(Author: Samara Duerr)

Over the past two weeks, two Ukrainian delegations visited Taiwan, with drones as a key theme in discussions on Taiwan–Ukraine cooperation.

The delegations took part in the 2026 Taiwan Civil Defense Convention, the Taiwan–Czech Forum, and the Roundtable on Democratic Resilience at the Legislative Yuan, and also visited DSET. Denmark’s Berlingske covered these Taiwan–Ukraine exchanges and cited DSET Non-Resident Fellow Ting-Wei Lin’s report on Taiwan–Europe drone cooperation to assess progress in Taiwan–Europe collaboration.

The two delegations received by DSET included one group of Czech and Ukrainian experts from two think tanks, the European Values Center for Security Policy (EVC) and Ukraine’s New Europe Center, and another group of Ukrainian representatives from the Liberal Democratic League of Ukraine (LDLU) and the Independent Anti-Corruption Commission (NAKO), including an active-duty military officer and an independent strategic communications specialist.

Both discussions emphasized drones are continuously refined to adapt to changing frontline conditions, including electronic warfare. Ukrainian experts stressed that drones function as systems rather than individual assets—FPV, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) drones, and relay drones working together to enable rapid kill chains. Relay drones were flagged as particularly relevant for Taiwan, where mountainous terrain and dense urban environments create signal obstruction challenges.

These discussions coincide with DSET’s forthcoming reports on Taiwan–Ukraine and Taiwan–Europe drone cooperation. Both reports will be launched on April 23, from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m., at the NCCU Center for Public and Business Administration Education. Please stay tuned for event details.

Taiwan Special Defense Budget: Bill Frozen, Doctrine Defined, Gap Exposed

(Author: Cathy Fang)

The Taiwan defense budget deadlock previously covered in our last two newsletters continues, with significant implications for the development of Taiwan’s UAS industry. Following a three-day joint committee review, on March 26, Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan has referred three competing special defense budget bills to cross-party negotiations after failing to reach consensus. If no agreement is reached within one month, the proposals will proceed to a floor vote in the plenary session.

The Executive Yuan’s proposal encompasses uncrewed systems acquisition across three channels—foreign military sales (FMS), commissioned programs, and commercial procurement—while both opposition proposals are limited to FMS. Disclosed procurement includes 1,554 ALTIUS-700M and 478 ALTIUS-600 ISR drones via FMS (US$1.1 billion); 36 Albatross II under NCSIST-commissioned programs (US$525 million); and approximately 200,000 coastal attack and ISR UAVs alongside 1,300–1,600 uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) procured commercially (US$875 million) in batches over six years.

Of particular note, in response to the budget review, the MND submitted a report to the Legislative Yuan on March 23—the first time it has outlined in relative detail the operational employment of the UAVs it seeks to procure across distinct conflict phases. Mapped against the five operational phases defined in the 2025 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), the MND has articulated a progression of UAV roles from early-phase ISR support toward integrated strike and sustained attrition: : (1) in Combat Readiness, serving as a sensing layer within the air and missile defense architecture, conducting stand-off ISR, domain awareness, and target cueing; (2) in Joint Anti-Landing and Littoral and Coastal Combat, functioning as ISR, targeting, and ISR-strike integration nodes within a multi-domain kill chain; (3) in Defense in Depth, transitioning into distributed assets embedded within ground forces; and (4) in Protracted Operations, sustaining long-term attrition across a dispersed operational environment.

Yet on counter-UAS capability, disclosed procurement to date—635 portable systems at NT$9.6 billion (approximately US$310 million)—raises questions about whether the defensive layer is proportionate to the offensive architecture being resourced.

U.S. Congress Moves to Anchor Taiwan in the Drone Supply Chain

(Author: Cathy Fang)

On March 30, a bipartisan U.S. Senate delegation from the Committee on Foreign Relations urged passage of Special Defense Budget and made a rare visit to NCSIST. Displays included the Mighty Hornet II, III, and IV and Albatross II UAVs, a laser designation electro-optical payload, the PSD-250 small turbojet engine, and the Dive-LD autonomous underwater vehicle developed with Anduril. The visit also marked the first public display of a multipurpose UAV warhead prototype for the Mighty Hornet IV, developed with U.S. firm Kratos, which had pierced a 50-millimeter steel plate in live-fire testing.

Separately, Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and John Curtis (R-UT) jointly  introduced the Blue Skies for Taiwan Act, a bipartisan bill to promote “PRC-independent” drone supply chains. It proposes a “Blue UAS Working Group” co-led by the Departments of State and Defense to fast-track certification for Taiwanese companies to the Blue UAS program and establish a cooperative framework with regional allies to expand Taiwan’s drone industry within secure supply chains.

Taken together, and building on the U.S.-Taiwan co-production provisions included in the FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), congressional support for U.S.-Taiwan drone cooperation is steadily deepening. However, both the NDAA provisions and the Blue Skies for Taiwan Act ultimately require the Department of War and the Department of State to develop concrete implementation plans—the details of which will be a key point of observation going forward.

PIPIR Sets Common Drone Standards, with Taiwan Poised to Deepen Its Supply Chain Role

(Author: Ryan Teng)

The U.S.-led “Partnership for Indo-Pacific Industrial Resilience (PIPIR)” held its second annual plenary on March 18, 2026, reaffirming its commitment to defense industrial resilience across the Indo-Pacific. Though not a formal member, Taiwan participated for the second consecutive year as an advisor—reflecting its substantive role within the mechanism. 

This year’s approved projects covered engine repair hubs in Japan and South Korea, a Japan-led solid rocket motor initiative, and potential Philippines cooperation on energetics and munitions. Notably, PIPIR for the first time proposed mutual recognition standards and a joint procurement policy for drone motors and batteries, signalling that component-level cooperation is moving toward institutionalization. In this context, some Japanese drone-related firms affected by China’s dual-use export controls may face fewer cooperation barriers as alternative sourcing becomes policy-sanctioned. 

At the same time, Taiwan-made motors and batteries have already demonstrated competitiveness in Eastern European and Ukrainian markets and fit well within a non-red supply chain. Taiwan is therefore positioned to deepen its role in Indo-Pacific drone supply chain cooperation as standardization advances.

Russia Launched Record 999-Drone Strike on Ukraine

(Author: Samara Duerr)

On the night of 23 March and into the 24th, Russia launched 999 Shahed-type drones alongside ballistic and cruise missiles against Ukraine, a record-breaking number of aerial attacks within 24 hours. Even more impressively, Ukraine intercepted 94.6% of them, a success attributed to a multi-tiered defense framework synchronizing Air Force units, interceptor drones, mobile fire groups, tactical aviation, and helicopters.

Ukraine’s performance has triggered a ripple effect, with other countries emulating its layered approach. Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te announced the “T-Dome” proposal last October, aiming to “establish a rigorous air defence system in Taiwan with multi-layered defence, high-level detection, and effective interception.” The plan deploys at least two Chiang Kung (強弓, “Strong Bow”) anti-ballistic missile systems with 128 missiles, at an estimated cost of NT$400 billion (US$12.8 billion), roughly one-third of the proposed NT$1.25 trillion special defense budget. Meanwhile, NATO launched a new Innovation Range in Latvia this March for testing counter-drone technology, open to both NATO and Ukrainian defense companies for high-speed, high-altitude intercept flights and electronic warfare testing.

As mass-deployed UAVs reshape security strategies, defense communities worldwide are forced into a permanent cycle of rapid R&D, prototyping, and adaptation.

As Europe Races to Build Its Drone Wall, Taiwan’s C-UAS Sector Strives to Keep Pace

(Author: Ting-Wei Lin)

Counter-drone systems are emerging as a defining procurement priority on both sides of Eurasia. In Europe, Poland is pressing ahead with plans to build the EU’s first large-scale anti-drone shield, directing €3.5 billion (USD$ 4 billion) in SAFE loans toward a flagship C-UAS system—a move underscored by a stark reminder of the threat: on 25 March, stray Ukrainian drones struck an Estonian power plant chimney and crashed in Latvia, the first week all three Baltic states were simultaneously affected by drone spillover.

Taiwan is pursuing a parallel build-up. The pending Special Defense Budget allocates over NT$9.6 billion (around US$300 million) for 635 portable counter-drone systems, and on March 22 Premier Cho Jung-tai made a high-profile visit to Cub Elecparts, a firm commercializing an anti-drone system through foreign technology transfer. In the same week, the Ministry of the Interior also announced plans to develop C-UAS capabilities for critical infrastructure protection.

The challenges are real. The 26 counter-drone systems procured last year from domestic firm Tron Future have reportedly failed acceptance testing twice. Taiwan’s C-UAS industry remains in its infancy; to secure a place in the global supply chain will require moving fast.

UK–U.S. Launch Joint Program to Counter Underwater Drone Threat

(Author: Ting-Wei Lin)

Uncrewed underwater vehicles are emerging as a defining maritime threat—and Western powers are moving to address them. The U.S. and UK have jointly launched REEF (Robotic Exclusion and Engagement Framework), a bilateral program to detect, track, and defeat UUVs, with both governments assessing submissions for potential defense solutions. The initiative aligns with the UK’s Atlantic Bastion concept targeting Russian underwater threats and the U.S. Navy’s broader push to field UUVs at scale.
The stakes are equally high in the Indo-Pacific, where the threat landscape is evolving on both the offensive and defensive fronts. China is advancing swarm uncrewed surface vessel (USV) capabilities, and Philippine authorities have discovered Chinese UUVs operating in their waters—a reminder that the region is already contested below the surface. Taiwan’s Special Defense Budget allocates approximately NT$28 billion (US$870 million) for roughly 1,500 attack USVs. Whether Taiwan has adequate capabilities to counter enemy USVs and UUVs in return, however, remains an open question.