Taiwan is preparing a large special defense budget aimed at building its own drone industry rather than just buying hardware, a boost for local manufacturers and a signal of how urgent the island sees its defense gap.

• The defense ministry wants NT$210 billion for three types of unmanned systems: coastal surveillance drones, coastal attack drones, and suicide drone boats.
• The planned buy is huge — over 200,000 attack drones, plus more than a thousand surveillance drones and drone boats.
• The point is to give local firms a stable, guaranteed order book so they invest in factories and research, covering airframes, communications, optics, batteries, and repair.
• Drones burn out fast in war, so relying on foreign suppliers risks running dry if shipping or supply chains are cut.
• Taiwan also wants a "non-red" supply chain — core sensor and communications parts made outside China.

Outlook: The budget still has to clear Taiwan's legislature, where an earlier NT$1.25 trillion defense package was already cut back to NT$780 billion.