Taiwan's production capacity for US arms sales is gradually recovering from supply chain disruptions, Taiwan's Defense Minister Wellington Ku said.
In order to increase efficiency, the US Congress is considering changes to the Arms Export Control Act that would allow Taiwan to receive the same arms sales regime as NATO Plus member countries. This would speed up administrative procedures and shorten the time for notifying Congress, Ku said, quoted by the Military Information Agency.
According to him, if this year's general budget is passed, several weapons systems will be delivered in stages. These include the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), Harpoon coastal defense systems, Altius-600M drones, MQ-9B Sea Guardian unmanned aerial vehicles, Switchblade 300 barrage munitions, MS-110 reconnaissance pods, Volcano mine systems, and third-generation land systems.
Ku added that in addition to direct arms purchases, the ministry plans to develop joint Taiwan-US research and development, as well as joint procurement of emerging technologies. It also plans to expand ammunition production lines and increase the capacity of Taiwan's military arsenals.
In addition to meeting wartime stockpile needs, the plan aims to support the domestic defense industry and build a supply chain independent of China, Ku said. Taiwan plans to produce 210,000 drones and over 1,000 unmanned surface vessels locally, with an expected output of NT$400 billion ($12.7 billion) and 90,000 jobs.
The plan is included in a proposed NT$1.25 trillion special defense budget that currently remains blocked by opposition lawmakers.