Author: Noah Reed
Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Taiwanese Army Reform Update, where we examine recent innovations and reforms in the Republic of China Army (ROCA). This edition will examine recent drone integration and training efforts, the re-classification of several brigades, and training reforms for one-year reservists.
Drone Integration and Training Accelerates
The most significant development in the first half of 2026 relates to the proliferation and integration of unmanned systems into ROCA units. Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo stated in a 2025 Legislative Yuan testimony that the ROCA would establish independent drone battalions, subordinated to the 21st, 58th, and 43rd Artillery Commands, respectively.[i] The deadline for these units to be stood up was stated to be July 2026, although the battalions under the 21st and 58th have seemingly already been activated and have begun providing drone certification training to personnel in several other ROCA units.[ii] Some level of drone adoption, especially reconnaissance UAVs, is also present in the 1st and 2nd Theater Commands. The 1st and 2nd Theater Commands are tasked with defending Penghu and Taiwanโs eastern Hualien and Taitung counties, respectively.
The Artillery Commandโs drone battalions are responsible for both strike and reconnaissance roles, and, from available information, UAV operators are organized into base tactical teams of 5-person units. These teams consist of:
- A team leader.
- A deputy team leader.
- A reconnaissance drone operator.
- Two FPV strike drone operators.
Figure: ROCA Drone Tactical Team Order-of-Battle (Symbols from Spatial Illusions).
Outside of the Armyโs artillery units, drone integration continues at the institutional as well as regular and reserve unit levels. In April of this year, the Army inaugurated the Unmanned Systems Training Command (็กไบบ็ณป็ตฑ่จ็ทดๆๆฎ้จ), which will integrate the training and research process between the services.[iii]
Map: Visualization of drone unit distribution and identification.
Keeping with the emphasis on education and training, reserve units have begun incorporating drones into mobilization training and have brought in licensed civilian drone operators to assist.[iv] Expect the upcoming Han Kuang exercise to heavily feature unmanned systems employment in the called-up reservist formations.
Image: The inauguration of the Unmanned Systems Training Command (Photo: MND)
Formal integration of unmanned systems into the organization of the ROCAโs combined arms brigades and regional commands will likely follow once procurement and training have reached the appropriate scale. At this moment, it is unclear if that integration will manifest into independent drone companies and battalions, or if the new equipment and drone operators will be folded into the unitsโ existing organizational structure.
Taiwan has made impressive strides in the adoption of unmanned systems over the last year. While the current focus of the ROCA is building the institutions required for specialized training, several new units have been established or re-constituted for a drone-centric role, and drones increasingly feature in ROCA exercises. The challenge of creating skilled drone operators in every unit will be steep, especially for reservist formations. However, Taiwanโs institutionalization of drone training has built a solid foundation for its future unmanned systems forces.
Several ROCA Units Reclassified as Combined Arms Brigades
In January of this year, the ROCA officially reclassified seven of its armored and mechanized infantry brigades to Combined Arms Brigades. This change was the natural continuation of reforms dating back to 2019, when the Ministry of National Defense (MND) began battalion-level reforms to adopt a combined arms organization.[v]
| Former Brigade Name | New Brigade Name | Region & Command |
| 269th Mechanized Infantry Brigade | 269th Combined Arms Brigade | 6th Army Corps / 3rd Theater (Northern Taiwan) |
| 242nd Armored Brigade | 242nd Combined Arms Brigade | 6th Army Corps / 3rd Theater (Northern Taiwan) |
| 584th Armored Brigade | 584th Combined Arms Brigade | 6th Army Corps / 3rd Theater (Northern Taiwan) |
| 586th Armored Brigade | 586th Combined Arms Brigade | 10th Army Corps / 5th Theater (Central Taiwan) |
| 234th Mechanized Infantry Brigade | 234th Combined Arms Brigade | 10th Army Corps / 5th Theater (Central Taiwan) |
| 564th Armored Brigade | 564th Combined Arms Brigade | 8th Army Corps / 4th Theater (Southern Taiwan) |
| 333rd Mechanized Infantry Brigade | 333rd Combined Arms Brigade | 8th Army Corps // 4th Theater (Southern Taiwan) |
Figure: Former and current brigade classifications and regions.
In practice, that shift resulted in the ROCAโs regular battalions integrating armor, mechanized, and anti-tank equipment more uniformly and ensured the regional area commands would not lag behind the seven premier mechanized and armored brigades in experience and capability.
The ROCAโs headquarters said the reclassification aligns with overall force development planning and changes in the battlefield environment, while enhancing โoverall defensive combat capabilities.โ[vi] This does not, however, mean every brigade’s overall organization and combat role is now uniform. The former armored brigades, specifically the 584th, will receive M1A2T Abrams tanks before their former mechanized counterparts, and will still feature armor more prominently. The last of those 108 Abrams tanks arrived in late April, where they will soon join the two commissioned battalions in the 584th Combined Arms Brigade.
The reclassification represents the end of a multi-year effort to modernize the ROCAโs force structure among its full-strength, volunteer force brigades. On paper, this effort aligns with Taiwanโs overall defensive strategy of creating several high-readiness mobile strike units, which can quickly respond to any landing attempts, while mobilized reservist and lower-readiness formations defend infrastructure and territory in their respective regions.
Map: Visualization of unit distribution and identification.
Survivability is the main concern with such a strategy. If units have time to disperse and entrench in forward positions before their garrisons come under fire, they stand to put up serious resistance. However, if units are caught with their vehicles in motor pools during the opening salvo of a conflict, there are serious concerns about their ability to maneuver to forward positions under fire, especially when roads and bridges could be damaged.
Reserve Infantry Brigades to Train with Volunteer Brigades
Reforms were also introduced to the ROCAโs reserve infantry brigades earlier this year. Taiwanโs infantry brigades are primarily used for training reservists and volunteers during peacetime, although they are expected to become full-strength combat units tasked with regional defense in the event of conflict.
To soften that process, one-year conscripts from several infantry brigades will begin to train alongside the volunteer Combined Arms Brigades during live-fire exercises, per an Executive Yuan policy reported published in January.[vii] This is an important step in training reform, and one that has the potential to improve brigade cooperation and experience. Select battalions from five reserve infantry brigades, likely the 109th, 249th, 101st, 137th, and 117th, will attend Tri-Service live-fire exercises starting later this year.
These five brigades will also form the core of Taiwanโs reserve defense strategy and, during wartime, will protect critical infrastructure and provide defensive depth and support to the more mobile and experienced Combined Arms Brigades.
Map: Visualization of unit distribution and areas of responsibility.
[i] ้ณๆฒป็จ, ๅ่ปใ็กไบบๆฉๅคง้ใๅฐ้ธ่ปๅ็ ฒๆ้จ ๆๅนด7ๆๅๅ้ๆฎต็ทจๆ. Liberty Times. https://def.ltn.com.tw/article/breakingnews/5221462
[ii] ้ณๅฝฅ้ต, 21็ ฒๆ้จ็กไบบๆฉ็ณป็ตฑๅ่จ็ทดโๅผทๅ้จ้ๅฐๆฅญๆ่ก. Youth Daily News. https://www.ydn.com.tw/tw/News/ugC_News_Detail.aspx?ID=596420
[iii] ่ณดไฝณๆฌฃ, ็กไบบ็ณป็ตฑ่จ็ทดๆๆฎ้จๆๆๆถ้ฒ็ฝฒ่จ็ทดไธญๅฟ ๅผทๅๅ จ็คพๆ้ฒ่ก้ๆงๅ ฑๅ็ฎๆจ. VOH Network. https://www.voh.com.tw/tw/News/ugC_News_Detail.aspx?CID=1&ID=12681&P=1
[iv] ๆไบบๅฒณ, ๆๅฌ็กไบบๆฉ่ชฒ็จ2ๅฐๆ ็็ทดๅพๅฏ็ณ่ซ่ญ็ ง๏ผๅฐๅฎถ๏ผๆฒๆณๅไธญ็ฐกๅฎ. United Daily News. https://udn.com/news/story/10930/9177211
[v] ๆฅไป็ฟ, ้ธ่ปๆๆๆ ๅ จ้ขๆดๅใ่ฏๅๅ ต็จฎๆ ใ ๅญธ่ ๏ผๅ ทๅ็จ็ซไฝๆฐ่ฝๅ. RTI. https://www.rti.org.tw/news?uid=3&pid=186960
[vi] CNA/UDN report, ่ฃ็ฒใๆฉๆญฅๆ ๆด้ใ่ฏๅๅ ต็จฎๆ ใ ้ธ่ป๏ผ้ ๆๅปบ่ป่ฆ็ซ. https://udn.com/news/story/10930/9271957
[vii] ่ณดไบๆฆ, ๆฟ้ข๏ผๅผทๅๆๆ่ฝๅใไปๅนด่ตทไธๅนดๆ็พฉๅๅฝน็ทจๆๆญฅๅ ต็. CNA. https://www.cna.com.tw/news/aipl/202601310030.aspx