Taiwan has signed an uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) development memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Arizona, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
The MOU was signed by Taiwan-USA Industrial Cooperation Promotion Office chief executive officer Jeff Lin (林昭憲) and Arizona-Taiwan Trade and Investment Office representative Steve Hsu (徐竹先) in Taipei on Monday, the ministry said in a statement.
Industrial Development Administration (IDA) Deputy Secretary-General Chen Pei-li (陳佩利) and Arizona Commerce Authority president and CEO Sandra Watson attended the signing ceremony, the ministry said.
The Russia-Ukraine war has drawn much global attention to the military use of drones, while the importance of civilian use of drones in communications, transportation and disaster relief has also gained importance, Chen said.
At a time when China accounts for 60 to 70 percent of the global commercial drone market, Taiwan and the US should work together to build a supply chain free from the Chinese Communist Party’s influence and ensure their national security, she said.
The IDA provides subsidies for the development of critical components for drones, including parts used in communications, payload capacity, flight control and artificial intelligence (AI) image recognition, the ministry said.
The IDA’s efforts aim to transform Taiwan into a drone supply hub and raise its status in the global economy, it said.
In addition, Taiwan opened the Asia UAV AI Innovation Application R&D Center in Chiayi County in August 2022 by integrating resources from more than 30 manufacturers for drone development, it said.
The cooperation with Arizona is expected to give additional technology support to Taiwan’s drone manufacturers, Chen said, adding that both sides would be able to take a larger share of the global drone market.
In April, the Industrial Technology Research Institute’s (ITRI) branch in North America signed an agreement with the center in Chiayi County, paving the way to drone development cooperation by taking advantage of ITRI’s resources in North America, Lin said.
The MOU signed on Monday would strengthen the partnership between Taiwan and Arizona, Lin said.
In addition to drone cooperation, Taiwan hopes to work with the US state in semiconductor equipment development, Chen said.
While Taiwan has built a strong pure-play wafer foundry services business, semiconductor equipment technology from the US has become an indispensable part of its success, she said.
As a result, Taiwan wants to reinforce cooperation in chip equipment development with the US, Chen said, adding that talent exchanges and training are expected to lay a good foundation.
Watson, who led a delegation to Taiwan for the MOU signing, said the US is looking forward to cooperating with Taiwan in drone and semiconductor development.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, is building two advanced fabs in Arizona and plans to build a third one there, with investments in the US state expected to top US$65 billion.
