Taipei: Taiwan’s military plans to procure close to 50,000 drones over the next two years as part of efforts to boost its asymmetric warfare capabilities, according to a government tender notice.

According to Focus Taiwan, the defense ministry’s Armaments Bureau aims to acquire a total of 48,750 drones in two phases – 11,270 in 2026 and 37,480 in 2027. The drones are categorized into five types, ranging from multi-rotor vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) to fixed-wing models, with maximum flight times from 7 minutes to 2.5 hours.

The tender notice on the government’s procurement website specifies that the drones will be sourced domestically and must exclude components made in China. Companies with Chinese capital or connections are prohibited from bidding. The Armaments Bureau emphasized that all assembly and component manufacturing should occur in Taiwan, with priority given to locally made parts.

A source with knowledge of the matter revealed plans to procure 7,500 Type A drones in 2026 and an additional 26,500 in 2027. These VTOL multi-rotor drones can carry payloads over 2.5kg, have control and transmission ranges over 6 kilometers, and stay airborne for over 30 minutes when unloaded.

The bureau intends to purchase 1,100 Type B drones in 2026 and another 3,200 in 2027. These drones, also multi-rotor in design, have a range exceeding 25 kilometers and can fly for at least 60 minutes when fully loaded with optical and 10kg payloads.

Additionally, plans include acquiring 970 Type C drones in 2026 and 2,980 in 2027. These fixed-wing drones are launched via catapult, have a modular design, can transmit data up to 90km, and operate for over two hours with a range of 180km while carrying optical systems and a 10kg payload.

For Type D drones, the bureau plans to acquire 1,350 in 2026 and 4,450 in 2027. These catapult-launched, modular fixed-wing drones have a 30km range and a 30-minute maximum flight time when fully loaded with a 2.5kg payload.

The bureau also plans to obtain 350 Type E drones in each of the two years. These VTOL fixed-wing drones can resist Beaufort scale 5 winds during takeoff and landing, have a 100km flight range, and can remain airborne for 2.5 hours, with an average speed above 80kph when carrying an optical payload.

The planned procurement comes amid rising military pressure from China, which often sends aircraft and warships over the Taiwan Strait median line. Beijing has held large-scale exercises around the country, prompting Taipei to enhance domestic weapons production, international arms procurement, training reforms, and improvements in overall combat readiness.