Taiwan pushed its home-built drone program into the open, a boost for its defense industry and a signal to Beijing that the island is arming itself.

• Aerospace maker AIDC showed off a new fixed-wing attack drone, Black Wing X, able to hunt and strike land and sea targets up to 100 km away.
• Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim toured the display herself, underlining that this is government-backed policy, not just a trade show.
• The drone launches from a catapult, so it can be set up fast almost anywhere, and uses AI to spot targets and fly on its own.
• AIDC also showed a counter-drone system that can jam or shoot down intruders with lasers, already used to guard prisons, ports, power plants, and airports.
• A separate camera-and-AI navigation system lets drones find their way when GPS is jammed — exactly the problem Taiwan would face in a war.

Outlook: Expect more flight testing and a push to get Taiwanese suppliers into mass production, with foreign partners in France and the US already feeding the effort.