TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Aerospace Industrial Development Corp (AIDC) CEO Ma Wan-jun (馬萬鈞) said on Thursday (Nov. 7) at the Global Views Leaders Forum that Taiwan can become a leader in drone manufacturing and a key supplier in the sector. 

Ma said to achieve this Taiwan must meet international production standards and focus on balancing quality, costs, and efficiency, per CNA. 

AIDC has received orders for drone mass production and is currently in the process of manufacturing. The company is also working to coordinate among Taiwan's drone industry to improve production capacity.  

Ma said China is one of the world's largest drone manufacturers. To compete, Taiwan will need to reduce costs and increase brand awareness. He added Taiwan is in the early stages and has a long way to go.

He added drone manufacturing involves numerous advanced technologies, including control systems, optics, telecommunications, materials science, and weapons payloads for certain variants. Taiwan has strong research and development capabilities in optics, telecommunications, and materials sciences. 

The challenge for Taiwan will be increasing production capacity to a sufficient scale to handle international orders. 

Meanwhile, Economics Minister Kuo Jyh-huei (郭智輝) announced the establishment of a drone manufacturing alliance in September meant to help develop the nation's drone sector.