As China looms, Taiwan makes more drones for defense and the US military

The drone business boom

Last year, Thunder Tiger’s Overkill drones became the first from an Asian company to qualify for the Pentagon’s Blue Uncrewed Aircraft Systems Cleared List, which certifies commercial drones for use by the US military. The small, first-person view (FPV) drones cost between $3,000 and $5,000 each, according to reporting from Rest of World, and are similar to the many explosive FPV drones being used on the battlefields in Ukraine.

Thunder Tiger has also started producing larger kamikaze drones starting at $30,000 based on the US LUCAS one-way attack drones, Rest of World reported. The LUCAS drones are themselves reverse-engineered versions of Iran’s Shahed drones that have been used in large numbers by both Russia and Iran.

Another one-way attack drone modeled on Israel’s Harpy drone was developed by the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST), a Taiwanese state-owned corporation, according to the Taiwanese think tank DSET.

Taiwanese companies also export plenty of drone components. For example, Thunder Tiger has been supplying drone components to three companies participating in the US Department of Defense’s $1 billion Drone Dominance Program, according to DSET. Taiwanese companies are also directly supplying flight controllers, batteries, motors, and other drone microelectronics to Ukrainian companies, while Czechia and Poland import tens of thousands of Taiwanese drones that may sometimes be passed on to Ukraine.

In March 2026, Thunder Tiger even expanded its overseas supply chain by establishing a US facility in Ohio capable of producing more than 60,000 drone motors each year, said Gene Su, general manager of Thunder Tiger, in an IEEE Spectrum interview.

Given their focus on hardware manufacturing expertise, Taiwanese drone companies typically turn to US companies and others with more expertise in AI and software. Taiwan’s NCSIST has sought to boost the AI capabilities of its drones by partnering with Western companies such as Anduril, Auterion, and Shield AI, according to DSET. Meanwhile, Thunder Tiger has purchased AI software from Auterion to embed in its broader lineup of drones, ground robots, and sea drones.