MARTAC, Taiwan to Jointly Develop, Produce Unmanned Surface Vessels
MARTAC has signed a deal with Confucian, its sales and marketing partner in Taiwan, and the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) for unmanned surface vessels.
The tripartite memorandum of understanding sets up a framework where the US firm and NCSIST will collaborate on research and development, as well as co-manufacture MARTAC’s surface craft in Taiwan.
It involves leveraging each other’s strengths through technology sharing, exploring supply chain integration and workforce development, in addition to knowledge exchange, enabling the East Asian country to build its local industrial capacity.
NCSIST President Shi-Chiang Li said that the collaboration aims to build “an ultra-high performance Unmanned Surface Vehicle capability with autonomous maritime obstacle avoidance and multi-role configurations that will open new opportunities for trade, investment, and defense capabilities.”
Meanwhile, MARTAC CEO Bruce Hanson stated, “We are honored to partner with Taiwan’s NCSIST and Confucian, a leading Taiwan reseller, in this important initiative.”
Drone Investment Spree
The self-governed island, facing the threat of a potential Chinese invasion, has been reinforcing its drone defense capabilities through domestic development and international collaboration.
In this month alone, Taipei’s NCSIST entered into a long-term partnership with AV for unmanned and precision strike systems.
It also teamed up with another US firm, Kratos, to transform a target platform into the Mighty Hornet IV high-speed attack drone.
Meanwhile, V-BAT drone manufacturer Shield AI joined forces with Taiwan’s Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation to advance defense capabilities, expand the local aerospace industrial base, and support collaborative technological innovation.
