Taiwan’s military has carried out its first joint combat exercise using multiple types of attack drones, adding unmanned systems to a live-fire drill that also featured anti-ship missiles, air-defense weapons and U.S.-made HIMARS rocket launchers.
The three-day exercise concluded Friday at the Jiupeng military base in Pingtung County. Taiwan President Lai Ching-te inspected the drills and said the integration of drones reflected the armed forces’ effort to adapt to changes in modern warfare.
Drones move from supporting role to combined operations
The significance of the exercise is less about a single weapons system than about how Taiwan is trying to combine different platforms in one battlefield network. According to reporting from the Associated Press, Reuters and Taiwan’s Central News Agency, the drills brought several types of attack drones into joint operations for the first time.
The exercise also included Taiwan-developed Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missiles and Tien Kung III surface-to-air missiles, as well as M142 HIMARS launchers purchased from the United States. Taiwan has been expanding investment in drones and precision weapons as it seeks to make its forces more mobile and harder to disable in the event of a conflict.
Modernization remains central to Taiwan’s defense plans
Taiwan’s government has made military modernization a central policy priority as military pressure from China has increased. Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has not renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control. Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claim and says the island’s future should be decided by its people.
The latest drills come ahead of a planned meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington. U.S. arms sales to Taiwan remain one of the most sensitive issues in relations between Washington and Beijing.
For Taiwan, the practical challenge is to turn new purchases and domestic weapons programs into units that can operate together under pressure. Exercises that integrate drones, missiles and rocket artillery are intended to test that coordination rather than simply demonstrate individual systems.
Sources: Associated Press, Reuters, Taiwan Central News Agency, September 18, 2026.
