On the 4th, Taiwan's Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng confirmed that, in order to improve the efficiency of US arms sales to Taiwan, the US government has revised the 'Arms Export Control Act,' granting Taiwan the same arms sales status as 'NATO+' member countries. He detailed this year's delivery list, stating that if the annual budget is approved as planned, all Army main battle M1A2T tanks, M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), and other items will either be fully delivered or shipped to Taiwan in batches within the year.
At the briefing, Chiu Kuo-cheng mentioned that the US defense industry is gradually recovering from global supply chain disruptions, and that the government led by President Donald Trump has also expedited administrative procedures for arms sales to Taiwan, accelerating the delivery process. Granting Taiwan 'NATO+' member status will greatly speed up the administrative review process for US arms sales to Taiwan. Regarding unmanned systems and asymmetric capabilities, the delivery list includes MQ-9B high-altitude UAVs, Switchblade 300 loitering munitions, ALTIUS 600 anti-armor drones, MS110 reconnaissance pods, and others, all of which will be shipped to Taiwan in batches according to the schedule within this year. F-16V fighter jets were not included in the delivery list.
Chiu Kuo-cheng emphasized that to continuously enhance overall armament capacity, the ministry is procuring emerging technologies through joint Taiwan-US research and the introduction of advanced technologies and combat concepts. At the same time, expansion and upgrades of ammunition production lines at various Taiwanese arsenals are being promoted to strengthen domestic production and stockpiling capabilities of critical munitions.