Taipei: Taiwan's government has released a comprehensive list of weapons systems it plans to acquire with a proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.6 billion) special defense budget, after facing demands from opposition lawmakers for greater transparency.
According to Focus Taiwan, most of the weapons systems on the list had previously been approved for sale to Taiwan by the United States or had been highlighted by Taiwan as items of interest. However, they had not been compiled into a list with specific quantities until now. The military announced on January 15 that approximately NT$950 billion, or 76 percent, of the eight-year special budget-which is separate from the general budget that also includes weapons expenditures-will be allocated to U.S. weapons systems.
The list of U.S.-approved systems includes 82 high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS) with 1,203 pods of precision rockets and 420 tactical missiles, and 60 M109A7 self-propelled howitzers. Additional U.S. items include 1,554 Altius-700M and 478 Altius-600ISR counter-drone systems, 70 Javelin anti-armor missile systems with 1,050 missiles, and 24 TOW-2B anti-armor missile systems with 1,545 missiles. These purchases were part of an US$11.1 billion arms package approved for sale to Taiwan by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency in mid-December.
The list also highlights plans to domestically procure over 200,000 unmanned aerial vehicles and more than 1,000 unmanned surface vehicles. Other projects funded under the special budget include AI-assisted and enhanced C5ISR (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) capabilities, and expanding military production capacities to meet potential wartime needs.
Some desired weapons were absent from the list, likely including equipment and systems slated for joint development and procurement by Taiwan and the U.S. The Ministry of National Defense (MND) indicated that the United States Department of Defense is accelerating internal reviews of additional items, and the list could be adjusted as other systems are approved for sale.
The disclosure followed a confidential meeting at the Legislative Yuan's Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee. The MND had faced criticism from opposition parties for maintaining confidentiality over most aspects of the special budget, including conducting Monday's meeting behind closed doors.
The bill, which would authorize NT$1.25 trillion in government spending on major weapons purchases and joint development programs with the U.S. over eight years from 2026 to 2033, was submitted for review to the opposition-controlled Legislative Yuan in late 2025. However, the larger Kuomintang (KMT) and the smaller Taiwan People's Party (TPP) have blocked the bill from being added to the Legislature's agenda, demanding a briefing from President Lai Ching-te first.
Despite the public release of the list, the opposition's stance appears unchanged. TPP chair and legislator Huang Kuo-chang remarked to reporters that he found nothing confidential in the MND's briefing. He noted that the TPP is drafting its own version of the special defense budget bill and plans to make revisions based on Monday's meeting before proposing it.