The government-owned National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) displayed a prototype of the land-mobile cruise missile, adapted from Anduril Industries’ Barracuda-500, at the Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition. The announcement comes as Taiwan boosts defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2030, up from 3.3% next year. Sasaki says these external and internal pressures, compounded by political divisions, tight budgets, limited markets and declining technical expertise, leave Taiwan’s defense industry vulnerable. Aside from its Barracuda-500-derived cruise missile, it has unveiled a stealthy, subsonic “carrier killer” cruise missile with a projected range of 600–1,000 kilometers, designed to deter Chinese carrier groups and complement existing but shorter-ranged Hsiung Feng and Harpoon systems. Taiwan has also tested the secretive Hsiung Feng IIE cruise missile, with a reported range of 1,200 kilometers, enabling a shift from coastal defense to offensive strikes.