Taiwan Building Non-Red Supply Chain for Drones
Over 1,000 domestically made drones lit up the night sky in southern Taiwan. But the show is more than just entertainment — it's a display of Taiwan's push to build a fully domestic drone industry. Officials emphasize creating a “non-red” supply chain, producing drones without Chinese components for civilian and military use.
REPORTER:
1,000 drones light up the night sky in southern Taiwan. But this show is more than just entertainment. It’s a display of the country’s push to build a drone industry that’s fully “Made-in-Taiwan.”
Weng Chang-liang (CHIAYI COUNTY MAGISTRATE):
These 1,000 [drones] are almost entirely made in Taiwan. So firstly, I think that’s really significant. Secondly, to fly [the drones] you need strong signal and strong system integration. So this is also a breakthrough for drone manufacturers.
REPORTER:
Crowds gathering in Chiayi, in the south of Taiwan, say the show is also a source of pride.
I feel honored that Taiwan has this technology. [Taiwan] can keep up with the international community. It makes me extremely proud to be Taiwanese.
REPORTER:
Beyond the spectacle. The technology points to a bigger goal. What officials call a “non-red supply chain.” That means producing drones without Chinese components. Taiwan is developing them as dual-use technology – meaning they can serve both civilian and military purposes. Researchers say making sure they’re protected is therefore vital to Taiwan’s security.
Kang Li (DIRECTOR, UV R&D CENTER, NATIONAL TAIWAN UNIVERSITY):
National security, you know, even privacy, cyber security. You know, many aspects because those are main vehicles commonly, uh, equipped with, uh, all kinds of sensors and wireless communications equipment, so they can easily record anything collected in the field. They can also have backdoors in their software, so they can easily access the user's data. So you have no way to control, uh, where the data is being stored or used by someone else.
REPORTER:
And lawmakers say the industry in Taiwan is growing fast.
Tsai Yi-yu (LEGISLATOR, DPP):
[The drone industry] has already increased 2.5-fold and is still developing vigorously. This is mainly due to our exports and export orders have also increased. Domestic R&D technology is also maturing. Of course, increasing future military procurement can increase the R&D capacity of the whole drone manufacturing and production supply chain.
REPORTER:
Still, analysts say building a fully independent supply chain takes time. China currently produces around 90% of the world’s consumer drones. And many key parts — from motors to sensors — are still made there. Taiwan is trying to develop its own ecosystem, but some say it requires more government support.
Ho Chun-Heng (NATIONAL CHENG KUNG UNIVERSITY):
Many key components are still produced overseas. To support a full supply chain factories must produce tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of components per month. That level of mass production capability and capacity requires government support to secure large international orders.
REPORTER:
The Chiayi government says it is fully committed to developing the drone industry. This includes investing in a drone research center and manufacturing bases, as well as regulations and certification systems.
Weng Chang-liang (CHIAYI COUNTY MAGISTRATE):
The central government is paying close attention to our entire supply chain including the verification process. Requirements are gradually being introduced for companies to strengthen and improve the supply chain. Regardless of whether some Chinese-made components were used in the past the core systems such as the fire control system and the chips are definitely not from China.
REPORTER:
And as Taiwan works to build out its domestic drone industry, it’s also aiming to become a key supplier for Western partners.
Kang Li (DIRECTOR, UV R&D CENTER, NATIONAL TAIWAN UNIVERSITY):
Taiwan has the biggest potential to become the biggest supply chain for United States. And also some Western countries, even EU. I know they also expect that Taiwan may be good partners on the supply chain for drones, because Taiwan has very good semiconductor industry.
REPORTER:
For now, the drone show is here to delight the crowd from the sky above. But many are hoping this light show will soon bring about a fully homegrown supply chain on the ground.
