Taiwan's first NT$40 billion tranche of annual spending under its newly passed drone procurement act will not clear the legislature by the start of FY2027, sliding into mid-year.

Because the opposition-backed act routes funding through the ordinary annual general budget rather than a ring-fenced special budget, the same opposition-controlled legislature that took a record 266 days to pass the FY2026 budget keeps annual veto leverage over drone spending. That precedent, plus the DPP government's strained relations with the legislature, points to fresh brinkmanship before the money moves.