US Supports Taiwan’s Defense Industry Amid China’s Aggression, US Envoy Says

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Jan 27, 2026 - 11:00 Updated: Jan 27, 2026 - 00:10
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US Supports Taiwan’s Defense Industry Amid China’s Aggression, US Envoy Says

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TAIPEI, Taiwan—The top U.S. representative to Taiwan said the Trump administration is committed to bolstering the island’s self-defense capabilities, highlighting partnerships between U.S. and Taiwanese defense and technology companies aimed at expanding Taiwan’s domestic defense industry.

Raymond Greene, director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), delivered a speech at a local seminar on Jan. 22. The event, titled “Strengthening Resilience: Defense as the Engine of Development,” was hosted by the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, a think tank established by Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense.

The United States is “working with Taiwan industry to expand its domestic defense industrial base,” Greene said.

“These defense and technology partnerships not only will boost Taiwan’s self-defense capability, but will also expand Taiwan’s manufacturing capabilities, provide jobs, and pivot Taiwan to becoming a powerhouse in trusted global defense supply chains,” he said.

Greene’s remarks come as Taiwan braces for a possible military attack from the Chinese regime, which considers the self-governing island part of its territory. Last month, the Trump administration approved an $11.1 billion arms sale to Taiwan, the largest U.S. weapons package ever proposed for the island.

U.S. defense company Northrop Grumman has established a medium-caliber ammunition test range in Taiwan, Greene said, which allows the island’s defense ministry to “test ammunition to global industry standards, advancing indigenous development projects through the transfer of technology, proprietary procedures, and expert training.”

Northrop Grumman, which has agreed to sell anti-tank mine-laying systems to Taiwan, is partnered with Taiwan’s National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, a quasi-defense ministry research agency. The partnership was announced in September last year, when the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding to explore collaboration on air and missile defense modernization for Taiwan’s defense ministry, according to a press release from Northrop Grumman.
Also in September last year, Northrop Grumman announced that it had teamed up with Taiwanese companies to bring advanced radar capabilities to Taiwan, according to a press release.

Greene also noted that U.S. defense technology company Shield AI has “invested heavily” in Taiwan’s supply chain, sourcing tens of millions of Taiwanese components and products.

In September last year, Shield AI signed a teaming agreement with Taiwanese government defense contractor Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC). According to a press release, an AIDC spokesperson said teaming with Shield AI “will strengthen Taiwan’s defense and deterrence capabilities, and supercharge Taiwan’s local drone and aerospace industry.”

U.S. drone-maker Anduril Industries has “implemented a strategic supply chain initiative in Taiwan to find multi-source suppliers for key components to enhance global supply chain resilience across products such as the Ghost-X UAS,” Greene said.

Taiwan received the first batch of Anduril Industries’ Altius-600M attack drones purchased from the United States in August last year, according to Taiwan’s national media, the Central News Agency, which quoted Taiwanese Defense Minister Wellington Koo.

Anduril Industries also has a partnership with NCSIST. According to a news release in August last year, Palmer Luckey, founder of Anduril Industries, was quoted as saying that the partnership would allow them to “integrate AI, autonomy, and advanced systems at a speed that matches the threats we face.”

Leveraging U.S. expertise in artificial intelligence alongside Taiwan’s manufacturing capacity and hardware could enable the development of advanced edge-computing and embodied-AI applications for drones, air defense, and command-and-control platforms, Greene added.

“The objective of all of these efforts is to establish conditions for dialogue, free from coercion. The United States has always insisted on the peaceful resolution of our cross-strait differences,” Greene said.

“Taiwan’s actions to restore the cross-strait military balance will remove the use of force as an option and give Taiwan the confidence to engage in dialogue at the appropriate time.”

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