Strengthening US-Taiwan Defense Industrial Cooperation; US Firms Hope to Highlight Economic Benefits

Regarding how to persuade various sectors in Taiwan to support US-Taiwan defense industrial cooperation, former AIT Security Cooperation Office Chief Brady Crosier stated recently that communication strategies are crucial. He emphasized the need to let the public understand that US-Taiwan defense industrial cooperation will provide job opportunities and benefit Taiwan's economy.

The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) recently held an "Industry Day" event, where several US defense firms shared prospects for cooperation with Taiwanese companies at AIT's Neihu headquarters.

Alexander Chang, head of Anduril in Taiwan, stated that Anduril hopes to continue enhancing industrial cooperation with Taiwan. While following the "Made in America" policy advocated by US President Trump, he noted that cooperation with Taiwan remains unaffected.

Chang shared that after on-site inspections, he found Taiwan's strengths in optics, small engines, chips, and precision machinery to be significant. Therefore, the company has hired professional supply chain managers in Taiwan to find suitable suppliers, though no specific local manufacturing ratio has been set.

Chang mentioned that Anduril founder Palmer Luckey, who previously founded VR company Oculus VR, is well aware of HTC's capabilities in the VR field and deeply appreciates Taiwan's overall manufacturing energy, which reflects Anduril's affirmation of Taiwan's manufacturing capacity.

Regarding challenges in Taiwan, Chang noted that unmanned systems develop rapidly and require constant development and debugging. The US accelerates development through government leadership, requiring companies to open integration interface control documents (ICD). However, Taiwan is currently limited by procurement flexibility and a lack of iterative development culture, which requires further communication.

Regarding cooperation with Taiwan's defense industry, Brady Crosier, Vice President of Business Development for the Indo-Pacific region at Domotactical Communications (DTC), stated that the company is striving for localization. They have asked AIT and the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology to recommend suitable Taiwanese firms and have visited five companies to propose cooperation, aiming to realize radio production in Taiwan by the spring of 2027. He also emphasized that almost all chips in their radios come from Taiwan.

Since defense cooperation projects are not included in the special military procurement budget, media expressed concern about how to persuade various sectors to support it. Crosier, who previously served as AIT Security Cooperation Office Chief, reiterated that the key is to communicate that defense industrial cooperation will provide more jobs and economic benefits to Taiwan, and that government investment in local drone manufacturers will eventually enable them to export, further benefiting the economy.