US Scholar Bonnie Glaser Visits Taichung's UAV Industry, Praises Manufacturing Capabilities

Taichung's unmanned vehicle industry continues to attract international attention. Bonnie Glaser, Director of the German Marshall Fund (GMF) in Washington, D.C., conducted an on-site visit on April 9 to two leading Taichung enterprises—HANXUNG Aerospace and Thunder Tiger Technology—to gain in-depth insights into Taiwan's UAV manufacturing capabilities, supply chain development, and technological applications. She also exchanged views with industry leaders on topics including industrial resilience, international cooperation, and overseas market expansion. Taichung City Government's Economic Development Bureau Director Chang Feng-yuan accompanied the delegation throughout the visit, underscoring Taichung's pivotal role as a hub for Taiwan's unmanned vehicle industry.

Director Chang emphasized that Taichung boasts a comprehensive industrial cluster encompassing precision machinery, aerospace, ICT, and smart manufacturing. In recent years, the city has actively promoted the development of the unmanned vehicle sector, steadily building a robust supply chain and manufacturing capacity. The fact that Director Glaser personally visited representative companies in Taichung highlights the international community's high level of interest in Taiwan's UAV industry and affirms Taichung's competitive advantages in drone manufacturing and technological R&D. The city government will continue to support the industry's global expansion through international exchanges, industry-academia-research collaboration, overseas exhibitions, and business matchmaking, aiming to establish Taichung as a key development base for Taiwan's drone industry.

The delegation first visited HANXUNG Aerospace, where officials introduced the Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance (TEDIBOA) and provided an overview of Taiwan's UAV supply chain development. During discussions, Director Glaser expressed particular interest in Taiwan's UAV production capacity, export markets, counter-UAS technologies, laser-based countermeasures, and how battlefield experiences from Ukraine could be leveraged to enhance industrial resilience. Both sides also engaged in in-depth dialogue on export controls, localization of critical components, and international cooperation.

The visit then proceeded to Thunder Tiger Technology, where discussions focused on Taiwan's international UAV strategy, including how battlefield feedback informs product development, scaling up manufacturing capacity, AI-powered autonomous flight systems, swarm drone applications, Blue UAS certification, expansion into the Japanese market, and broader overseas growth. The delegation gained a comprehensive understanding of Taichung-based companies' innovative technologies and global market positioning.

The Economic Development Bureau noted that Director Glaser has long focused on Indo-Pacific security and Taiwan-related issues. She previously served as an advisor to the U.S. Department of Defense and Department of State under President Biden's administration and is currently affiliated with major think tanks such as the U.S.-Asia Pacific Council, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Mayor Lu Hsiu-yen, during her U.S. visit in March, also held discussions with Director Glaser and other prominent Washington-based scholars on defense security, cross-strait relations, and industrial development.

Director Chang stressed that amid global supply chain restructuring and rapid advancements in smart technologies, the city government will continue collaborating with the private sector to deepen technological R&D and international partnerships, supporting enterprises in expanding overseas business opportunities. By leveraging Taichung's existing strengths in aerospace, precision machinery, and smart manufacturing, the city aims to build a more resilient and internationally competitive unmanned vehicle industrial cluster, enhancing Taichung's strategic position within the global high-tech supply chain.