Taiwan Defense Budget Leaves Two Secret Programs Worth NT$64.5 Billion Unnamed

The largest single item in Taiwan’s proposed supplementary defense budget is also the least transparent: NT$64.5 billion set aside for two classified programs whose names have not been disclosed.

The Executive Yuan approved a supplementary budget of more than NT$145.6962 billion for the Defense Ministry. Of that amount, NT$133.4 billion falls under military investment. The classified programs account for nearly half of that investment, prompting scrutiny of what they cover.

Liberty Times compared the figures with the Defense Ministry’s public implementation plan for an earlier NT$1.25 trillion special procurement proposal. The two most likely candidates are equipment and systems developed or purchased jointly by Taiwan and the United States, and an artificial intelligence-assisted decision-making system under the category covering AI support and C5ISR systems.

The Legislative Yuan reduced the earlier eight-year proposal to NT$780 billion and limited it to purchases from the United States. Commercial purchases, commissioned production and Taiwan-US cooperative projects were excluded. Defense planning officials later confirmed that all 13 excluded projects involving commissioned production, commercial purchases and joint Taiwan-US development or procurement had been included in the supplementary budget.

The budget’s other allocations help narrow the possibilities. NT$55.9 billion covers three unmanned systems: coastal surveillance drones, coastal attack drones and suicide unmanned boats. Another NT$13 billion covers seven publicly described items, including drones, counter-drone systems, missile systems, tactical networks and industrial capacity. A further NT$7.3 billion covers urgent ammunition replenishment.

The two classified programs therefore appear to be the Taiwan-US cooperative projects, estimated at about NT$64 billion, and the AI-assisted decision system. The latter is described as a sensitive command and decision-making component linked to early warning, prediction and rapid engagement. The supplementary budget covers initial procurement for fiscal year 2026 and extends into 2027, rather than the full eight-year estimates. The proposal must still go to the Legislative Yuan for review.

“

The excluded 13 projects involving commissioned production, commercial purchases and joint Taiwan-US development and procurement have all been included in the supplementary budget.