Taiwan shows off first missile to be jointly made with US firm

TAIPEI – Taiwan unveiled its first missile to be jointly manufactured with a US company on Sept 17, marking a major step in the fast-growing defence cooperation between Taipei and Washington to counter China’s military threat.

Taiwan is racing to bolster its armed forces as Beijing, which views the island as its own territory, steps up military pressure, including staging war games and regularly sending warplanes and warships into nearby skies and waters.

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said in June he would

deepen security cooperation with the US

and the island would jointly develop and manufacture weapons. The US is its most important international backer and arms supplier, despite the absence of formal diplomatic ties.

Ahead of the Taipei Aerospace and Defence Technology Exhibition, the military-owned National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) put on display Barracuda-500, an autonomous, low-cost cruise missile designed by US defence technology start-up Anduril Industries.

The NCSIST said through technology transfer, it plans to mass produce in Taiwan the missile, designed for group attacks on warships and similar to exploding drones.

“This is a new endeavour. We aim to build our own defence capabilities more swiftly and efficiently, incorporating the latest technologies,” NCSIST president Li Shih-chiang told Reuters.

Taiwan’s goal is to build the entire production line locally and keep the cost per missile below T$6.5 million (S$277,000), he said.

“Should hostilities break out, should we face blockade, we are not like Ukraine – which still has the European continent to provide a steady, uninterrupted flow of reinforcements,” he added.

“All our resilience must be built upon this island.”

Mr Li said the NCSIST will sign two contracts and six memorandums of understanding with six unspecified US and Canadian companies during the three-day trade show that opens on Sept 18.

Taiwan has set a goal of spending 5 per cent of its gross domestic product on defence by 2030, up from

a target of 3.3 per cent

in 2026, and is keen for greater international support aside from the US. REUTERS