Taiwan agrees to buy nearly 1,000 US killer drones as the People’s Liberation Army conducts exercises on the island

The Taiwanese army signed two contracts on Tuesday with the American Institute in Taiwan, Washington’s de facto embassy in Taipei, according to a government procurement website.

The contracts, worth a total of NT$5.27 billion (US$163.9 million), include the purchase of two types of suicide drones: 685 Switchblade 300 loitering munitions designed for personnel attacks, and 291 Altius 600M-Vs -Anti-tank attack drones.

The Switchblade drones are expected to be delivered by the end of November 2029, while the Altius drones are expected to be delivered by the end of 2027.

The contracts indicate that the drones will be deployed in key strategic locations, including Taoyuan in the north of the island, Taichung in central Taiwan, Kaohsiung in the south and Hualien in the east.

Both the Switchblade and Altius systems are classified as loitering munitions, designed to patrol a target area and strike when a target is identified.