Are drones 'the next big thing' for Taiwan amid China threat?

Exports in the first half of 2025 hit $15.25m, over five times that for the whole of 2024

- Ho Ai Li

HSINCHU/TAIPEI - In an office in the Hsinchu tech hub, a screen shows a map of Taiwan's Kinmen island, nearly 200km away from Taiwan and just 2km from China's coast, and radars scanning for suspicious drones across different parts of this vulnerable outpost.

The office belongs to Tron Future Tech, a Taiwanese firm started in late 2018, which makes radars, jammers and interceptor drones that can detect and neutralise the threat from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), among other equipment.

Anti-drone systems account for about two-thirds of its business, its founder and chief executive Wang Yu-jiu told foreign reporters visiting his firm's headquarters in July.

The use of drones in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, coupled with Chinese drones flying over Kinmen, has sparked greater demand for counter-drone systems, especially for protecting critical infrastructure like power plants, science parks or water dams, he said.

China claims Taiwan as its territory and has been putting pressure on the island by frequently flying military aircraft and having its navy ships sail near or around the island.

"The demand for anti-UAS (unmanned aircraft system) suddenly increased a lot in the past two or three years," he said, estimating that demand has grown at least 10 times in the last two years.

Tron, which is contracted by the Taiwan government to supply anti-drone systems in Taiwan, also works with partners in countries like India, the Philippines and Singapore.

In Taiwan, the drone or UAV business has come under the spotlight as a rapidly growing industry earmarked for development by the government — it has even been seen as possibly "the next big thing" for Taiwan after its world-leading semiconductor industry.