U.S. weapons companies have arrived in Taiwan, hoping to strengthen cooperation with the island's military industry to produce some trendy weapons such as drones and unmanned craft.
According to Taiwan's CTS News on June 4, a delegation of 27 U.S. defense companies arrived in Taiwan on June 4 and will participate in the "Taiwan-U.S. Defense Industry Forum" on June 6, with former U.S. Marine Corps Pacific Commander Rudd attending the opening ceremony.
Unmanned self-destructing boat from Maritime Tactical Systems, Inc. (MARTAC), model MUSKIE M18 Photo: social media
The size of the 27 U.S. defense contractors compared to last year's 25 has increased slightly to include Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Nog and other major U.S. arms companies, some of which have been sanctioned by China.
During the visit, in addition to exchanging views with the Taiwanese military on drones, military industry and other capabilities, the U.S. side will also visit the Sun Yat-sen Institute of Science and Hanxiang Company, and visit Taiwan authorities.
In addition, the U.S. delegation will participate in the "Taiwan-U.S. Defense Industry Forum" to be held on June 6 at the Taipei International Convention Center, hoping the forum will allow Taiwanese manufacturers to showcase the current capabilities of Taiwan's military industry and Taiwan's local military enterprises to seek cooperation opportunities with foreign investors. Taiwan-U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Han Ruber and former Pacific Marine Corps commander Lieutenant General Steven Rudder will attend the opening ceremony.
The forum has three main agendas, the first of which concerns the production of military aircraft and warships in Taiwan.
Taiwanese company Hanxiang will explain "the status of Taiwan's self-made military aircraft and future planning," Taiwan's "Chung Shan Institute of Science" will talk about "Taiwan's development of key technological cooperation," Taiwan's Chung Shan Institute of Science will give a presentation on "Taiwan's development of key technological cooperation," and Taiwan Shipbuilding Corporation will present Taiwan's self-made warships and their future development.
The second topic on the agenda is "Advanced Technology." Taiwan's "Aoyi Intelligence" will explain "AI Defense Technology Application and Future Development," while Taiwan's "National Security Research Institute" will talk about Taiwan's self-built warships and their future development. The Taiwan National Security Research Institute (NSRI) will talk about "Opportunities and Challenges of Taiwan-U.S. Defense Cooperation," while Longde Shipbuilding will explain "Technology and Development of Unmanned Surface Vehicles."
The third agenda item will be "UAV Topics," with briefings from UAV manufacturers Matrix Aerospace, Sinopower, and Thunder Tiger Technology.
It is worth noting that one of the U.S. companies coming to Taiwan is a company called Maritime Tactical Systems (MARTAC), which recently launched a small autonomous surface vehicle (ASV) codenamed Muskie M18, which participated in the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet's Unmanned Integration Block 24.1 (IBP 24.1) test in March.
MARTAC claims that the vehicle, which combines high speed, high payload, excellent range and low cost, can develop asymmetric warfare advantages and carry out surveillance, patrol and attack missions.
On May 22, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) announced the "Order No. 7 of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China," or the "Decision on Countermeasures Against U.S. Military-Industrial Enterprises and Senior Executives."
In this measure, "countermeasures" were taken against 12 U.S. military-industrial enterprises and 10 executives of such enterprises, freezing their movable and immovable assets and other types of property in China and denying visas and entry into the country (including Hong Kong and Macao) to the executives of such enterprises.
The 12 U.S. military companies sanctioned are: Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, Javelin Joint Venture, Raytheon Missile Systems, General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, General Dynamics Information Technology, General Dynamics Mission Systems, Intercoastal Electronics, Systems Research and Simulation, Iron Mountain Solutions, Applied Technology Group, and Axiont Corporation.
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