Taiwan Building Fleets of Drones to Repel Chinese Invasion

August 11, 2026

Taiwan is building fleets of flying drones and unmanned attack boats to repel any future invasion from China.

The goal is to use them to help locate and attack Chinese forces approaching the island, relying on Taiwanese soldiers trained to move quickly before China can strike them. US commanders who developed this strategy call it a ‘hellscape’: overwhelming an invading force with waves of drones, missiles, and artillery, and making an amphibious assault so risky that China’s leaders are deterred from trying.

The threat faced by Taiwan is urgent, as China, which is roughly 110 miles away, claims the self-governed island and, according to its leaders, it will not rule out using force to absorb Taiwan. Taiwan is trying to emulate Ukraine’s ‘David-versus-Goliath approach’ where cheap and nimble drones are used to level the playing field against a much larger opponent.

China’s army is not yet strong enough to easily invade Taiwan, many experts believe, and recent purges in the People’s Liberation Army’s high command have undermined its readiness. But like Taiwan’s military, it has been building up fleets of crewless planes and boats, and is investing heavily in technology to detect and jam drones.

It also said that the government wants Taiwan to make 100,000 drones a month by 2030, with around half of them exported, aiming ot make the Island a drone industry superpower. The government also wants the military to acquire 210,000 aerial and seaborne drones.

According to Mick Ryan, a retired Australian major general who has studied Ukraine and Taiwan, Kyiv’s recent success at long-range strikes suggests that Taipei could also attack vessels leaving ports in China if Beijing launched an amphibious assault.

For Taiwan, acquiring the drones may be the straightforward part. To master drone warfare, Taiwan must also retool its military organisation, training, and doctrine. It must learn to operate swarms of drones, rapidly assess and share the intelligence they provide and prevent an enemy from disabling them, according to experts. This will require troops to be more mobile and self-sustaining.