Defense industry of Taiwan

Taiwanese defense industry has produced fighter aircraft, missile systems, surface ships, radars, rocket artillery, armored vehicles, and small arms.

[citation needed] Under DPP President Tsai Ing-wen, there was a renewed focus on indigenous manufacturing, particularly of air and naval defense.

[8] Taiwan's defense industry has seen significant growth, aligning with the ruling party's goals set in 2014 to revitalize domestic weapons production.

Recent milestones include the unveiling of a fighter jet trainer prototype and the initiation of Taiwan's first homegrown submarine project.

The government has matched military needs with local companies' capabilities and has steadily increased the defense budget, with 2020 marking a record high.

[9] In 2021 Ministry of National Defense launched an initiative to recruit foreign workers to permanent jobs in Taiwan to address local talent shortages.

[19] The government and private manufacterers have been eying the global market as a way to build enough scale in the drone industry to effectively compete with China.

Between the Taiwanese Navy and the Coast Guard Administration Taiwan spends approximately a billion dollars a year on new vessel construction.

[citation needed] Famous examples include Tuo Chiang-class corvette, Panshih-class fast combat support ship, and Yushan-class landing platform dock.

[34][35] The Taiwanese government has expressed increasing interest in supplying high end weapons systems and components to "like-minded democracies".

[39] Ukrainian engineers claimed to have found numerous commercial off-the-shelf Taiwanese components in Russian weaponry used in the Russo-Ukrainian war, including five on the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal.

[41] Significant quantities of nitrocellulose (used in gunpowder production) from Taiwanese producers have made its way to Russia during the war, primarily through traders in Turkey.