Jared McKinney is an associate professor at the Air War College. Reiss Oltman is a fellow in the Department of Joint Warfare, Air Command and Staff College at the Air Force Base.
Taiwan is currently debating whether to proceed with plans to spend $8.9 billion on building seven submarines between 2025 and 2038. The indigenous defense submarine (IDS) program is a way to stimulate Taiwan's defense industry and aims to equip Taiwan with anti-submarine warfare capabilities. It complicates the Chinese blockade and invasion attempt. While these are laudable goals, the price tag is high, the timeline for procurement is stretched, and the likelihood that subs will be able to compete effectively in the 2030s is uncertain.