The drone industry is a bustling market in Taiwan. For that reason, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) recently hosted a media networking in Taipei to help Taiwanese drone companies expand their international market presence.

TAITRA Chairman James Huang emphasized the explosive growth of opportunities in the drone sector. Thus, with Taiwan’s strengths in information and communication technology (ICT) and artificial intelligence (AI), the future of the drone industry is promising. In fact, it is drawing significant international attention.

TAITRA remains steadfast to its commitment to promoting Taiwanese drones internationally through various platforms. Among them are the AIoT Taiwan Exhibition, Taiwan Excellence Awards, and Taiwan Image Exhibition.

Filling Technology Gap

Thunder Tiger’s unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) including multiple models ranging from Air, land and see for military and civilian use. Hawk Yang, Chief Technology Officer at Thunder Tiger, noted that their products have been made in Taiwan. Also, they all come equipped with AI applications, making them the first company globally to develop a helicopter swarm system for UAVs. However, they are still outsourcing overseas the gimbal cameras and encrypted communication modules. Thus, this is what the Taiwan government could do to help fill the key technology gap.

Meanwhile, Alias Li, CEO of Taiwan Drone 100 pointed out that drones are not only for show and performances. Most importantly, they are necessary with detection technologies for applications such as firefighting, bridge inspections, and urban incident management.

The 2024 AIoT Taiwan in Oct. 23-15 collaborate with Chiayi County’s Asian Drone AI Innovation and Application R&D Center to establish the “Drone Taiwan Pavilion”. This will attract key domestic drone manufacturers such as Thunder Tiger, Taiwan UAV, CIRC, AHAMANI, and Taiwan Drone. In total, 25 drone companies will participate, showcasing Taiwan’s latest R&D capabilities. The exhibition will feature a drone test flight area, offering visitors a hands-on experience with Taiwan’s cutting-edge drone technologies and applications.

Unprecedented Growth

Looking ahead, TAITRA plans to host Drone Expo in 2025 concurrently with 2025 Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition. This event will attract 70 companies with 200 booths. Therefore, showcasing unmanned vehicles for land, sea, and air, as well as operating systems, telemetry, and related AI application software. The exhibition will also highlight key components essential for drones and unmanned vehicles.

As global demand for drones continues to rise and countries like the United States and the European Union seek non-mainland China supply chains, Taiwan’s drone industry will poise for unprecedented growth. During Taiwan President Lai Ching Te’s inaugural speech, he emphasized the goal of making Taiwan the “Asian hub for the democratic drone supply chain”.

Accordingly, the global drone industry is likely to reach a market value of US$55.8 billion by 2030, with Taiwan’s market expected to reach NT$40 billion by the same year.

30 August 2024