Taiwan’s National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) has reached a cooperation agreement with the American defense technology company Auterion to strengthen Taiwan’s defense against threats from the Chinese Communist Party. Experts point out that collaboration between Taiwan and countries like the United States, Ukraine, and Israel is beneficial for the development of drones and unmanned vessels.
On June 17, NCSIST and Auterion signed a development agreement for drones and unmanned vessels, utilizing software that has been tested in combat in Ukraine. Additionally, the United States House Appropriations Committee passed the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, including a $500 million aid package for Taiwan to enhance its deterrence capabilities.
Deputy Director of the Taiwan Policy Research Institute, Guo Yuren, mentioned that Taiwan has a high level of capability in manufacturing drones and unmanned vessels individually. However, Taiwan lacks the ability to integrate these unmanned vehicles into the overall digital battlefield management system, such as integrating unmanned vessels with naval ships or equipment, indicating a relative lack of integration capability in this aspect.
Guo Yuren pointed out that countries with such integration capabilities, like the United States, have a relatively large military scale and a highly diverse research and development system, resulting in a high level of system integration. Moreover, the integration capability of small countries needs to be high, which requires real combat experience, as seen in Ukraine. During the over three years of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Ukraine has likely developed the highest integration capability for unmanned aerial vehicles and traditional combat platform systems.
Guo Yuren mentioned that Taiwan has been cooperating with Ukraine on unmanned aerial vehicles for some time now, with a significant American defense industry consortium visiting Taiwan two years ago to discuss collaboration with Taiwanese unmanned vehicle manufacturers. Therefore, the development of drones and unmanned vessels in Taiwan over the past couple of years has been quite significant.
He noted that Taiwan has a higher number of manufacturers and more experience in unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) in the air and on the ground. However, in the area of underwater and surface vehicles, due to the higher technical threshold, the number of manufacturers is the lowest, necessitating collaboration with countries like the United States or Israel for research and integration.
To counter the threat from the Chinese Communist Party, Taiwan announced in May this year that it would procure at least 47,000 drones within three years, with a goal to reach an annual production of 180,000 drones by 2028. Auterion’s software was used in Ukraine’s operations against the Russian military, and this agreement will arm Taiwan with millions of military drones and unmanned vessels.
Earlier, NCSIST in Taiwan held an open exhibition of surface unmanned vehicles, inviting 12 domestic and foreign companies to participate. On that day, at the offshore unmanned vessel exhibition held at Su’ao Port in Yilan, three Taiwanese companies – Lei Hu Technology with “Seashark 800,” Carbon-Based Technology with “Carbon Insurance No. 1,” and Long De Shipbuilding Industry with “Black Tide” – showcased the latest unmanned vessels (USVs) at sea, highlighting the role of these autonomous vehicles in new defense strategies.
In a report by the Military News Agency, to promote the development of surface unmanned vehicles (USVs), members of the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, including Ma Wenjun, Wang Dingyu, Chen Junyu, and Lin Yijun, visited the Su’ao area in Yilan on the 18th to inspect surface unmanned vehicles. They gained a firsthand understanding of the product performance and development potential of domestic and foreign manufacturers and expressed appreciation for the achievements in defense technology research and industry promotion.
Accompanied by Deputy Chief of the Ministry of National Defense Yang Jirong and Lieutenant General Li Shiqiang, Director of NCSIST, the committee members received a mission briefing, visited a variety of unmanned vehicles displayed by domestic and foreign manufacturers like Carbon-Based, Lei Hu, and Long De, observed their control capabilities and task simulations during the dynamic display, and discussed the future applications of unmanned vehicles in patrols, reconnaissance, operational support, and the benefits and feasibility of their subsequent development.