Taiwan Unveils New Generation of Low-Cost Strike Drones and Missiles at 2025 Defense Exhibition

Taipei’s aerospace and defense show ran September 18-20 at TaiNEX 1 with 490 exhibiting companies across 1,500 booths. Organizers counted 51 first-time products on the floor, signaling a heavier emphasis on unmanned and low-cost strike systems this year.

At the Xiangshan Forum in Beijing during the same week, China’s defense minister Dong Jun called the “return” of Taiwan to China part of the post-war order and warned against outside military interference. The language tracked the remarks he has used throughout the year.

A Taiwan Army M1A2T Abrams stood beside a HIMARS launcher in the land systems zone, both fielded in growing numbers since late 2024. Deliveries of Abrams reached 80 of 108 by July, split across two batches, with the remaining 28 scheduled for early 2026. HIMARS stood at 11 of 29, with the rest due in 2026 after first local tests in May.

TADTE 2025 Exhibitors and New Products

The show’s scale set records. Host materials listed 490 companies from 15 countries and 1,500 booths, while trade outlets highlighted 51 debut items under a National Defense Pavilion. The dates were September 18-20 at Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center Hall 1.

Exhibits clustered around loitering munitions, counter-UAS, and low-cost cruise missiles aimed at saturation roles. Over forty American firms took space, including vendors of tube-launched loitering munitions. Taiwan has already moved to acquire Switchblade 300 and to localize sustainment for small UAS families with a formal cooperation framework signed during the week.

The PLA message emphasized resolve and warned against “separatist” efforts or foreign military presence around the island. The cabinet has set defense outlays for 2026 at 3.32% of GDP, with an announced goal of 5% by 2030.

U.S. media reported the president declined to approve more than $400 million in Taiwan military aid during the summer of 2025, while other arms packages and sales continue to move. Taipei’s program offices point back to domestic production and closer co-development.

Abrams and HIMARS Deliveries

Abrams commissioning steps continue after the December 2024 arrival of the first 38 tanks and a July 2025 shipment of 42 more. The army scheduled a formal ceremony in late October and has published unit alignment details. The 28 remaining tanks are slated to arrive early next year. Live-fire drills during Han Kuang exercises already featured the type.

HIMARS has moved from receipt to testing to exercise use in a compressed window. Taiwan received 11 launchers in 2024, ran the first local firing in May 2025 and maneuvered systems during July’s drills. The purchase totals 29 launchers, with deliveries scheduled to be completed in 2026.

Local firms brought out ground vehicles and support kits sized for urban defense and dispersed operations. Trade coverage noted a surge in counter-UAS gear, including systems headed to outlying islands where small drone incursions have increased. A Taiwan vendor confirmed near-term deliveries under a January order of 26 C-UAS packages.

NCSIST Agreements on Barracuda-500 and Counter-Drone Systems

NCSIST signed multiple deals with North American companies during the show week. Announced lines included Anduril’s Dive-LD autonomous underwater vehicle, a Copperhead maritime system and AirShare’s Interceptor UX for counter-drone missions. Taiwan’s science institute and its partners described co-production or local adaptation as the goal, with integration tests for the counter-drone rocket slated at Jioupeng before the year’s end.

The Barracuda-500 low-cost cruise missile sat at the center of those tie-ups. Taiwan displayed the system with the stated intent to mass produce through technology transfer and to keep unit cost near NT$6.5 million, roughly $216,000. Company statements and industry coverage in late September confirmed a successful prototype test of a surface-launched configuration. Taiwanese officials said they want a ground-launched version to target ships at range.

According to industry sources, the working envelope listed for Barracuda-500 exceeds 800 km with a 45+ kg payload and endurance over two hours, with an “M” variant configured for warship or land-target strikes. The same airframe can carry electronic-warfare payloads for jamming.

Taiwanese agencies are also expanding links with small-UAS suppliers beyond kinetic use. A new framework with a U.S. manufacturer sets up training, sustainment processes and co-development on autonomy software. Related briefings described a policy to treat small drones more like ammunition in terms of storage and resupply.

Chien Feng IV, Mighty Hornet III, Chiang Kong and Kuai Chi Programs

NCSIST and Kratos presented the Chien Feng IV, also called Mighty Hornet IV, derived from the MQM-178 Firejet target drone and tailored as a fast anti-ship attack UAV. The project team described a stand-off profile at high subsonic speed, with range figures from multiple reports converging near the 1,000 km mark. The aircraft doubles as a decoy or as a low-cost cruise missile depending on payload, and program officials expect first flight tests early next year.

Mighty Hornet III appeared as a fully indigenous anti-armor loitering munition with an X-wing planform aimed at quick lateral corrections near the target. Taiwan’s defense ministry pavilion counted it among 19 unmanned types on display, and officials said operational testing should finish later this year before wider procurement.

Taiwan’s new Chiang-Kong, or Strong Bow, interceptor added an upper-tier layer against ballistic missiles. Officials said the two-stage missile is already in production, guided by a trailer-mounted active electronically scanned array radar. Public data placed intercept altitude at about 70 km with a directed-fragmentation warhead for midcourse or high-end terminal work. The missile and radar were shown together at the show for the first time.

Technical notes released around the event described the radar’s 360-degree search and track functions, independent power for launcher and missile during test and launch sequences, and integration within a layered network that already includes Tien Kung and Patriot. Coverage in regional defense journals traced the program’s development funding and the move from single-stage TK-3 to a larger two-stage design.

NCSIST’s Kuai-Chi unmanned surface vessel rounded out the maritime picture. The 3-ton craft has a container that fits in a standard 40-foot box, runs above 40 knots on twin diesel outboards and can either ram with contact fuses or fire loitering munitions from forward canisters. Taiwanese reports said it completed combat evaluation in June and scored a target hit during an August drill.

Defense officials confirm a wider concept behind these buys and partnerships. The United States has telegraphed a plan to flood an invasion corridor with unmanned systems across sea, air and subsea to delay and attrit a landing force. Taiwan’s mix of low-cost cruise missiles, loitering munitions, attack USVs and counter-UAS can plug into that template while retaining independent use.

Government figures put next year’s top-line near 3.32% of GDP, with an intent to reach 5% by 2030. That total now includes the Coast Guard for the first time. Program managers at NCSIST continue to emphasize local supply chains with an aim to hold missile unit cost for Barracuda-class rounds near NT$6.5 million while standing up a domestic line that can survive a blockade.

More than 40 U.S. vendors took stands this year, but the most visible pieces remained Taiwanese. Drone makers, radar firms and shipyards put forward designs that stress quantity, simple sustainment and container mobility for quick repositioning around the island. A separate current tied into counter-mine, cable monitoring and port defense with new autonomous underwater vehicles configured for 6,000-meter depths and 10-day endurance.

Reports in mid-September on U.S. aid decisions created uncertainty over timelines for certain munitions and drones. Taipei’s answer has been to sign co-production frameworks, expand test ranges and front-load certification on local variants. The current strategy hinges on three levers: mass production of low-cost cruise missiles for maritime strike, fielding of jet and prop loitering munitions to saturate landing areas, and rapid deployment of containerized USVs and counter-UAS to close near-shore gaps.

Taiwan Unveils New Generation of Low-Cost Strike Drones and Missiles at 2025 Defense Exhibition

TADTE 2025 Exhibitors and New Products

Abrams and HIMARS Deliveries

NCSIST Agreements on Barracuda-500 and Counter-Drone Systems

Chien Feng IV, Mighty Hornet III, Chiang Kong and Kuai Chi Programs

REFERENCE SOURCES

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