Taiwan opened a new military drone research, testing, and production campus and broke ground on an adjacent industrial park on Sept. 28, as the self-governed island moves to expand its domestic unmanned-aircraft industry and defense supply chain.
President Lai Ching-te presided over both ceremonies in Chiayi County. The newly opened Minxiong campus of Taiwan’s National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) will conduct research, testing, verification, and production of military-grade drones, according to Taiwan’s Presidential Office.
NCSIST invested more than NT$1.1 billion ($35 million) in the campus, including facilities for drone systems integration and testing, research, and development, and related infrastructure.
Across from the campus, Taiwan’s central government is investing nearly NT$6.9 billion ($220 million) in an aerospace and drone industrial park scheduled for completion in 2028. Plans call for production facilities, laboratory equipment, research space, and a drone test-flight field, with the government seeking to attract domestic and foreign companies to the park.
Expanding Domestic Production
The two projects are part of Taiwan’s effort to expand its drone manufacturing capacity from research and component production to larger-scale production of complete systems.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs plans to invest NT$44.2 billion ($1.4 billion) in strengthening the drone industry from 2025 through 2030, according to Lai.
Taiwan’s drone industry had a production value of NT$12.9 billion ($411 million) in 2025—more than 2.5 times the previous year’s level—and more than 267 companies are now involved in systems integration or manufacturing key components, Lai said.
According to a separate July statement from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taiwan’s exports of complete drones rose from $4.41 million in 2024 to $212 million in the first half of 2026.
The government plans to provide stable demand, support research and mass production, and help companies obtain international certifications. Lai said Taiwan aims to move from supplying components to providing complete drone systems and trusted production capacity.
In a Facebook post after the event, Lai said Taiwan would also deepen cooperation with democratic partners to build a more secure and resilient drone supply chain, with the goal of becoming an “Asian center for democratic drone supply chains.”
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te (C) and other officials attend a groundbreaking ceremony for the Minxiong Aerospace and Drone Industrial Park in Chiayi County, Taiwan, on Sept. 28, 2026. The adjacent National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology Minxiong campus, which will conduct research, testing, verification, and production of military-grade drones, also officially opened that day. (Courtesy of Office of the ROC President)
The Chiayi projects have been built in stages. Former President Tsai Ing-wen inaugurated the Asia UAV AI Innovation Application R&D Center in the county in 2022, and construction of the NCSIST Minxiong campus began the following year.
The area now includes the Asia UAV center in Taibao, the NCSIST Minxiong campus, a coastal unmanned-vehicle testing site, and the industrial park that broke ground on Sept. 28.
Lai also urged lawmakers across party lines to approve a nearly NT$60 billion ($1.9 billion) supplemental budget proposed by Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense.
The money would be used to purchase drones from domestic manufacturers, according to the Presidential Office. Lai said the purchases would support the development of a domestically based drone industry and called on the legislature to review and approve the proposal promptly.
