Taiwan is expanding its military drone fleet in a big way, a defensive buildup aimed squarely at watching for Chinese moves around the island.

• The navy will buy 32 locally built Chien Yuan II surveillance drones, which can stay in the air 16 hours and be controlled from over 300 kilometers away.
• It is also buying 280 V-BAT drones from US defense startup Shield AI, which take off and land vertically from ship decks and keep working even when GPS is jammed.
• Both programs were secret budget items last year and have now been made public, together costing more than 50 billion Taiwan dollars through 2029.
• The stated goal is spotting early signs of Chinese military action at sea and speeding up the time from detecting a target to hitting it.
• The navy is separately adding funds for 12 underwater drones for scouting and mine hunting, with design work starting next year.

Outlook: Taiwan's defense budget is heading to parliament now, and approval would lock in years of drone purchases and more business for Shield AI.