00:00In footage released Sunday, Israel's military strikes what it says is a drone launch site in western Iran.
00:07Images like this are now informing countries like Taiwan about how to craft its own defense strategy,
00:12as it faces growing military threats from China.
00:15As the Middle East war enters its third week,
00:18Taiwanese officials are laying out their plans to buy more weapons to beef off air defense.
00:22Those plans include the Taiwan Dome, or T-Dome, a multi-layered air defense concept proposed by President Lai Qingde.
00:43Plans for the T-Dome aim to incorporate both locally made and foreign systems.
00:47Monday's discussion comes after Reuters reported last week that U.S. President Donald Trump plans to approve a $14 billion
00:55U.S. dollar weapon sale to Taiwan
00:57after a planned meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping later this month.
01:00That will be the biggest arms package for Taiwan on record.
01:04It reportedly includes Patriot PAC-3 missiles and the coveted National Advanced Surface to Air Missile Systems, or NASAMS.
01:13But some lawmakers say missiles should not be the only focus.
01:36The defense ministry says it's working to strengthen the country's drone capabilities too,
01:41improving its counter drone capacity through small batch procurements and testing.
01:45That's as Taiwan awaits a U.S. letter of offer and acceptance for the sale of Altius drones made by
01:51an American firm Enduro.
01:53But perhaps just as critical as the drones themselves are the systems that protect against them.
02:18The Iran war is offering a glimpse of what a future battlefield might look like.
02:23Low cost, low cost, but highly precise.
02:26That's why Taiwan is paying close attention as it hones its own strategy.
02:30Buying cheaper, lighter weapons to face China's much larger military.
02:35And preparing for a war that it hopes will never come.
02:38Joseph Wu and Ellen Lu for Taiwan Plus.
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