The Taiwanese government and U.S. defense contractor AeroVironment have strengthened their defense technology ties with a new agreement to bolster Taiwan’s unmanned systems capabilities.
At the Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition 2025, AV signed a memorandum of understanding with the state-run National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology to support the sustainment and life cycle management of AV’s uncrewed and precision strike platforms in Taiwan.
“This partnership underscores AV’s long-term commitment to supporting the defense needs of Taiwan and our allies in the Indo-Pacific region,” said Justin McFarlin, vice president of international business development at AeroVironment. “By combining the combat-proven effectiveness of AV systems with NCSIST’s advanced research and development capabilities, we are ensuring Taiwan can produce and sustain mission-critical systems, strengthen deterrence, and respond quickly to evolving threats.”
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Initial work will center on AV’s JUMP 20 and JUMP 20-X vertical takeoff and landing drones. AV will provide training, technical expertise and sustainment practices to help NCSIST establish infrastructure that keeps the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms combat-ready.
The collaboration is part of an offset agreement tied to Taiwan’s recent acquisitions. In July 2024, the United States cleared a $60.2 million foreign military sale of AV’s Switchblade 300 loitering munitions to Taiwan. More recently, Taipei announced plans to acquire up to 100,000 drones to harden homeland defense and critical infrastructure.
Looking ahead, AV and NCSIST expect to expand into joint development of new unmanned systems and autonomy software.
“Taiwan has clearly signaled a demand to strengthen its domestic defense ecosystem and a desire to expand its self-reliance in defense production and life cycle management,” said Brian Anderson, AV’s Asia-Pacific business director.