Taiwan Announces Plans to Buy 50,000 Military Drones by 2027

What Happened?

Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense recently announced plans to buy or build 50,000 military drones by 2027. According to the South China Morning Post, during a television program aired on August 14^th Taiwan’s defense ministry highlighted achievements in Taiwan’s indigenous defense industry, including a ‘multi-function drone system’ featuring five newly developed models.

Among the five categories of drones Taiwan intends to acquire or build, first person view drones were at the top of the list. Other types of drones include reconnaissance and intelligence gathering models equipped with an array of visual and audio sensors.

Why it Matters

Drone warfare is no longer the war of the future; it is the war of the present. First-person view drones have been used to great effect by Ukraine against Russian tanks, vehicles, and infantry troops. First-person view drones work by allowing the operator to fly the drone towards the target seen on the main view screen, which can be done without any specialized flight or navigation training.

First-person view drones can carry a wide range of weapons and explosive devices, from smaller bomblets to larger bombs capable of destroying tanks and other heavy equipment.

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Because they are cheap, easy to operate, and deadly, first-person view drones have become the weapon of choice for Ukrainian troops in their war against Russia. A drone that costs only a few hundred dollars to build or buy can destroy equipment worth millions. 

For Taiwan, building a drone arsenal is a relatively low-cost way to offset China’s numerical superiority in terms of troops and military equipment. One Taiwanese military official said they plan to treat drones like bullets.

Speaking to the South China Morning Post, Major General Lou Woei-jye, deputy director of political warfare for Taiwan’s Army, said ‘Drones have the characteristics of rapid iteration and high consumption rates. The army plans to treat drones as expendables or ammunition, depending on how they are employed.’

Though drones can be cheap and effective weapons, they still require a human operator. Most drones could more accurately be called remotely piloted instead of unmanned. There is a human operator, they just aren’t physically in the vehicle itself.

That means for Taiwan to field tens of thousands of drones they will need to increase the number of trained drone operators, which currently numbers only a few hundred for the Taiwanese Defense Force.

China is building its own drone arsenal, which means any hypothetical future conflict between China and Taiwan will almost certainly involve large numbers of drones.

How it Affects You

The war between Russia and Ukraine has demonstrated that drones can be effectively used in large scale combat operations. Ukraine’s devastating drone strike on Russia’s manned bombers is just one example.

Israel proved clandestine forces can set up and operate drones from inside an enemy’s territory, which vastly increases their effective range of operations. Taiwan is just the latest country to make becoming drone-capable a top defense priority.

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