Must Drones Use Special Budget? Ministry of Defense Admits 'Procurement Special Act' Aims to Fill Combat Capability Gaps from Cuts

The Legislative Yuan's Economic Committee held a public hearing today (23rd) on "How to Strengthen Defense Self-Reliance, Promote International Cooperation, and Develop Local Industries through Unmanned Vehicle Special Legislation," inviting participants from industry, government, and academia. Regarding why drone procurement requires a special budget, the Ministry of Defense stated that the 'Defense Self-Reliance Unmanned Vehicle Procurement Special Act' proposed this year aims to fill the combat capability gap resulting from the deletion of projects under the NT$1.25 trillion budget proposal.

Chen Wen-hsing, Deputy Minister of Defense (Operations), acknowledged that the NT$1.25 trillion special budget proposed at the end of last year originally included various drones and anti-drone systems, but ultimately only NT$780 billion for U.S. arms purchases was approved, failing to meet the military's urgent operational needs. The 'Defense Self-Reliance Unmanned Vehicle Procurement Special Act' proposed this year is intended precisely to fill the combat capability gap caused by the deletion of those NT$1.25 trillion items.

In a written report explaining why drone procurement must use a special budget, the Ministry noted that the 2025 defense budget's share of the central government's total budget has risen from 15% to 18%, reaching a recent high. However, most of the allocation is already occupied by ongoing military investment projects, leaving limited space for new initiatives. The Ministry stated that with major new projects such as glide-launch Sky Sword II missiles, continued procurement of Sky Bow III missiles, runway repair equipment, mid-tier tactical ballistic missile defense systems, various anti-drone systems, and military equipment resilience planned for inclusion in the 2026 fiscal budget, the available budget space for unmanned systems is "extremely limited." Forcing additional allocations would create a crowding-out effect, disrupting the implementation of other policy initiatives.

Regarding division of responsibilities, the Ministry emphasized that due to the specialized and urgent nature of defense needs, procurement of unmanned vehicles for defense operations should be led by the Ministry of Defense, while overall industrial development planning should be separately advanced by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, thus achieving dual goals of immediate military readiness and traditional industry transformation.

To address rapid technological iteration, the Ministry stated it will adopt a multi-year procurement approach and establish specifications for two core modules—flight control AI (autonomous flight) and communication modules (swarm coordination, anti-jamming navigation)—that support software updates and hardware replacement. The Ministry also stated that before delivery to the military, drones must undergo visual inspection and disassembly checks, and pass comprehensive cybersecurity testing by the Digital Development Ministry's 'Unmanned Vehicle Cybersecurity Joint Testing Laboratory' on systems, software, communications, and firmware, verifying capabilities such as frequency agility, automatic frequency shifting, and link re-establishment.