In first, Taiwan, U.S. agency to make missile, underwater drone

Taiwan will collectively manufacture a missile and an underwater drone with a U.S. firm for the primary time, officers stated on Thursday (September 18, 2025), as Taipei seeks to spice up home weapons and ammunition manufacturing.

The democratic island faces the fixed risk of an invasion by China, which claims it’s a part of its territory, and is beneath U.S. strain to spend extra by itself defence.

Taiwan’s National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) agreed earlier this 12 months with U.S. defence agency Anduril to collectively make the corporate’s Barracuda-500, a low-cost, autonomous cruise missile.

On Thursday, NCSIST and Anduril signed one other settlement to co-produce the corporate’s underwater drone.

These are Taiwan’s first such agreements with a overseas firm, NCSIST president Li Shih-chiang informed AFP.

“Our purpose is if in the warfare, even the blockade, we can manufacture every weapon we need to protect ourselves,” Mr. Li stated on the sidelines of the Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition, the place the Barracuda is on show.

Anduril’s Taiwan head Alex Chang stated the main focus of the joint cooperation was on “mass producibility” and making native manufacturing sustainable.

The firm would “work very closely” with the United States and Taiwan, Mr. Chang informed AFP.