Taiwan bets on a drone surge to deter China and fuel exports

Taiwan unveiled a $6.6 billion, six-year plan to buy over 208,000 coastal attack drones plus thousands of coast reconnaissance drones and uncrewed vessels, aiming to deter China and spur domestic drone production for export to the US and other buyers; firms like Thunder Tiger are expanding overseas and partnering with Western tech to win Pentagon approvals, with production projected to rise from about 15,000 drones per month to over 100,000 by 2030, though DJI’s dominance and domestic political hurdles could complicate efforts.