Taiwan is putting real money behind a home-grown drone industry, good news for Chiayi's economy and for defense manufacturers looking to plug into a non-China supply chain.

• A new aerospace and drone industry park broke ground in Minxiong, Chiayi county, with completion due in 2028.
• The park is expected to host 100 companies, create 1,200 jobs, and generate NT$8 billion in output a year.
• Next door, a national research campus for drone design, testing, and production just opened after three years of construction.
• President Lai Ching-te, the defense minister, and the economics minister all attended, a sign of how central drones have become to Taiwan's defense plans.
• The pitch is to make Taiwan the Asian hub of a "democratic" drone supply chain, an alternative to Chinese-made drones.

Outlook: The research site starts work now, but the commercial park's jobs and output are a 2028 story, and depend on whether enough companies actually move in.