TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's government has announced the local contractors who secured the bids for a national military drone initiative valued at NT$6.88 billion. Despite this development, local manufacturers face formidable challenges competing against larger, more affordable foreign products.
Cooper Chang (張成榮), chairman of a tech company, reflected on the company's ten-year journey transitioning from model aircraft to drones, striving to secure both commercial and public sector contracts. Chang emphasized the critical role of government subsidies, stating, "market demand is one of the biggest pulling forces."
Chen Yen-ting (陳彥廷), chairman of the Taiwan Defense Association (台灣防禦協會), pointed out that domestic demand primarily centers on small commercial and military needs, with existing regulations stifling commercial market growth. Due to a constrained domestic market, local drone manufacturers must innovate new models or components, making it unrealistic to maintain their current market positions.
Retired Air Force officer Chou Yu-ping (周宇平) highlighted the challenges local manufacturers face in meeting cost-performance expectations compared to mainland Chinese brands. He also noted issues related to the exclusion from the "red supply chain" and production precision, stressing that Taiwan must capitalize on its strengths to penetrate the international supply chain, as volume-based pricing remains challenging for the island.
Experts have observed that despite the Taiwan-U.S. industry alliance, business exchanges cannot be one-sided. The government must balance policy protection with market mechanisms. Though the collaboration between the U.S. and Taiwan has limited impact on commercial drones, military drones may risk obsolescence if unable to compete with U.S. products.
Members of Taiwan's drone sector must clearly define their market positioning and development strategies to achieve success on the international stage.