Key facts
- Aevex Aerospace and Coretronic Intelligent Robotics Corporation will produce Vandal and Onyx drones in Taiwan.
- Taiwan's drone exports reached $115 million in the first quarter of this year.
- Taiwan aims for a drone industry output of US $1.27 billion by 2030.
- The Taiwanese government plans to invest US $1.4 billion in its drone industry by 2030.
- Thunder Tiger Corporation's Overkill drone was added to the US Department of Defense's Blue UAS Cleared List.
- Thunder Tiger established a drone motor production line in Ohio with an annual capacity of 60,000 to 120,000 units.
California-based defense technology company Aevex Aerospace is collaborating with Taiwan's Coretronic Intelligent Robotics Corporation (CIRC) to locally manufacture its Vandal and Onyx drones. This initiative aims to integrate lessons learned from the conflict in Ukraine with Taiwan's advanced electronics and manufacturing capabilities, bolstering the island's defense against potential threats from the People's Liberation Army and contributing to a more resilient global drone supply chain.
Taiwan is actively positioning itself as an alternative drone supply chain for the United States and other nations seeking to reduce strategic dependence on China. According to Taiwan Premier Cho Jung-tai, the island's assembled drone systems exports reached $115 million in the first quarter of this year, already exceeding the $93 million total for the entirety of 2025. Cho stated that as global demand for non-China supply chains grows, Taiwan is well-positioned for international market expansion, with the industry projected to achieve an output of NT $40 billion (US $1.27 billion) by 2030.
The total output for Taiwan's drone industry, encompassing components, modules, and parts, reached NT $12.9 billion (US $409 million) in 2025, more than a 2.5-fold increase from the previous year. Exports of complete drones saw even more significant growth, climbing to NT $2.95 billion (US $93 million) in 2025, a 21-fold year-on-year increase. Over 267 Taiwanese companies are involved in the drone system integration and component supply chain.
The current landscape of modern warfare is creating new business avenues in the drone sector, with a growing emphasis on low-cost, expendable systems for short-duration missions. Conflicts in Ukraine and the Strait of Hormuz highlight the widespread use of drones for surveillance, targeting, and low-cost strikes, often integrated with satellite, cyber, and electronic warfare capabilities for real-time operations.
To further strengthen Taiwan's drone industry and enhance supply chain resilience, the government intends to invest NT $44.2 billion (US $1.4 billion) by 2030. This investment will support the development of core components and system architecture, including chip modules for flight control, communications, and satellite positioning, as well as critical flight and ground control software systems.
Taiwanese firms are also making inroads into the U.S. market. Thunder Tiger Corporation's first-person view (FPV) loitering munition drone, the Overkill, was added to the U.S. Department of Defense's Blue UAS Cleared List in 2025, marking the first Asian system to be included. Thunder Tiger also supplies three U.S. partners under the DOD's Gauntlet I program. In March, the company established its first U.S. manufacturing facility in Ohio, a drone motor production line with an annual capacity of 60,000 to 120,000 units, aiming to integrate Taiwanese engineering into the U.S. industrial base and support both defense and commercial demand.