Taiwan broke ground on a new drone industrial park set for completion in 2028, a project experts view as vital to keeping the island’s unmanned aircraft firms, capital, and technological innovation rooted locally.NCSIST Minxiong campus and industrial parkThe National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) on Sept. 28 held an inauguration ceremony for its Minxiong campus and a groundbreaking ceremony for the Minxiong Aerospace and Unmanned Vehicle Industry Park in Minxiong, Chiayi County. Presiding over the ceremony, President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) hailed the groundbreaking as a major milestone for Taiwan’s drone sector, pointing to more than NT$1.1 billion (about US$34.5 million) invested by state arms maker NCSIST in R&D and testing facilities at its Minxiong campus. While the campus focuses on research, validation, and manufacturing of military-grade drones, an adjoining industrial park costing nearly NT$6.9 billion and funded by the central government is slated for completion in 2028. According to the Presidential Office, the park will feature production facilities, flight-testing grounds, and R&D labs designed to attract domestic and international aerospace firms.Lai said Taiwan has the capacity to become “Asia’s hub for a democratic drone supply chain,” and described the ceremony as an important step toward realizing that goal.Saying Taiwan’s drone sector is “ready in every respect except for the final push,” Lai urged lawmakers across party lines to swiftly approve nearly NT$60 billion in supplemental defense spending to purchase locally made equipment and spur domestic industry development.Taiwan’s Cabinet on Sept. 3 approved a 2026 supplemental defense budget proposal of NT$145.7 billion, with NT$55.9 billion earmarked across three unmanned-system projects, including coastal surveillance and reconnaissance drones. President Lai Ching-te, joined by officials and industry experts, broke ground on the Minxiong Aerospace and Unmanned Vehicle Industry Park on Sept. 28. (Office of the President) Building an integrated industrial clusterDemocratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷), a member of the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign and National Defense Committee whose constituency includes Minxiong, told TCN that integrating NCSIST's state R&D capabilities with the planned industrial park will seamlessly connect military research, commercial production, and flight validation — solidifying Chiayi’s emergence as a complete aerospace cluster.By coupling NCSIST’s defense testing grounds with a private-sector industrial zone, the park will accelerate the transition of military R&D into mass production, Chen said. He added that shared AI simulation tools and testing infrastructure will offer local firms end-to-end support from design to flight verification, advancing Taiwan's drone self-reliance and global market reach.Beyond its military role, the aerospace park represents a transformative regional investment for Minxiong, Chen said. He noted the project will anchor advanced supply chains and technical talent in Chiayi while fueling local job creation.A drone-industry ecosystemKuo Yu-jen (郭育仁), director of the Institute of China and Asia-Pacific Studies at National Sun Yat-sen University, told TCN that the Minxiong park’s groundbreaking and Lai’s policy announcements provided an important boost for Taiwanese companies.Despite political controversy surrounding the unmanned systems special act and its associated budget, Kuo said domestic drone makers remain eager for the government to push the initiatives forward. The push reflects a broad industry desire to keep core manufacturing rooted in Taiwan and capitalize on the Minxiong park’s development.“Many companies I know have expressed their willingness to keep their roots in Taiwan,” Kuo said.For private industry, the park serves as both a physical base and a vital policy signal incentivizing investment, Kuo said. Echoing Lai’s remark that the sector is “ready in every respect except for the final push,” Kuo warned that Taiwan has entered a critical window for drone development in which a lack of decisive state support could squander a major strategic opening.The government is unlikely to let such a hard-won opportunity slip away, Kuo said, projecting that once local elections conclude and the political climate stabilizes, authorities may redouble efforts next year to enact the unmanned systems special act and advance drone policy. Photo shows an unmanned aerial vehicle research and development facility at the NCSIST's Minxiong campus. (Chiayi County Government) Peacetime production capacityThe military effectiveness of drones depends heavily on mass and sustained production capacity, Kuo said. He added that the systems are advancing at breakneck speed, powered by rapid breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and precision manufacturing.Establishing peacetime mass-production capacity and supply-chain resilience is vital for rapid wartime replenishment, as manufacturing lines cannot easily scale up once fighting starts, Kuo said. He noted that the government is acutely aware of the vulnerability.Surging global demand from the Ukraine war, Europe, and the United States has opened a vital window for Taiwanese drone firms, with Poland already courting local defense vendors, Kuo said. He noted that Washington is backing this push on two fronts: by encouraging Taiwan to field distributed drone swarms under the “Hellscape” concept and opening its own domestic defense market to Taiwanese producers.Why Minxiong was chosenKuo said the choice of Minxiong for the NCSIST campus and drone industrial park reflects a strategy of dispersing R&D, improving testing conditions and integrating southern Taiwan’s industrial resources to establish a new strategic base for Taiwan’s drone industry.While NCSIST’s drone research has long been concentrated in Taoyuan’s Longtan District, Kuo noted that heavy industrial density and extensive no-fly zones around nearby Taoyuan International Airport have left little room for test flights or physical expansion.A primary objective of the Minxiong park is to reduce the vulnerability of overconcentrating defense R&D and manufacturing in northern and central Taiwan, Kuo said. He noted that Chiayi’s open terrain, abundant state-owned land, lower population density, and access to mountain ranges create far more favorable conditions for testing and validating air, land, and maritime unmanned systems.The government can also leverage established precision machinery and high-tech supply chains in neighboring Tainan and Kaohsiung to build Minxiong into a premier dual-use industrial cluster, Kuo said. A member of the ROC Army operates a drone during a military exercise. (MNA) A potential second defense-industrial hubKuo said Minxiong could become Taiwan’s second major defense-industrial center and potentially develop into an industrial park with international influence.With roadmap planning well advanced between NCSIST and approximately 100 prospective corporate tenants, Kuo noted that steady execution will allow the park to achieve commercial scale and solidify an integrated drone supply-chain cluster anchored by the state developer.Infrastructure gaps remain a critical challenge for Minxiong, with transportation a glaring weakness, Kuo suggested. Travel from Chiayi’s high-speed rail hub to the National Chung Cheng University area currently relies heavily on taxis, taking upwards of 50 minutes due to limited transit connections.More parks may followKuo described the government’s approach as straightforward, aiming to expand manufacturing capacity and produce drones in sufficient volume so sustained demand can sharpen the industry’s competitive edge.The Minxiong park will primarily relieve research congestion in Taoyuan while consolidating the domestic supply chain, he said. As the industry scales, Kuo projected that Taiwan will likely establish additional dedicated aerospace parks to meet demand.