AIDC teams up with Shield AI to build advanced drone ecosystem

Taipei, Sept. 15 (CNA) Taiwan's fighter jet developer Aerospace Industrial Development Corp. (AIDC) has partnered with U.S.-based defense technology firm Shield AI to develop an advanced UAV ecosystem in a bid to strengthen Taiwan's defense capabilities.

In a statement, AIDC said Monday that the company and Shield AI have signed a formal Teaming Agreement to enhance Taiwan's aerospace industrial base and improve collaborative technological innovations.

According to the agreement, both sides will focus on sustainment, training, autonomy and integration among other technical initiatives to ensure Shield AI's products can be deployed, supported and scaled in Taiwan, AIDC said.

"Shield AI's state-of-the-art mission autonomy and aircraft, such as its V-BAT drone, combined with AIDC's decades of aerospace manufacturing experience, will strengthen Taiwan's defense and deterrence capabilities and supercharge Taiwan's local drone and aerospace industry," an AIDC spokesperson said in the statement.

"Teaming up with Shield AI, one of America's most cutting-edge defense technology companies, demonstrates AIDC's ability to move quickly and decisively with world-class innovators in a rapidly evolving defense tech ecosystem," the AIDC spokesperson added.

As part of the agreement, AIDC said, the Taiwanese partner will provide maintenance services in Taiwan for products supplied by Shield AI, eliminating the need to send products back to Shield AI's U.S. facilities.

Meanwhile, Shield AI will provide training and cultivate engineering technology talent in Taiwan in a bid to build technology capabilities to gain the trust of the military, AIDC said.

AIDC said the two companies will integrate their own software and hardware resources to roll out highly efficient and competitive products.

"As the largest and most capable defense prime in Taiwan, our work with AIDC is really about accelerating Taiwan's local drone and aerospace industry as they ramp up next generation deterrence capabilities now and for the next two decades. This is going to be a fantastic, long-term partnership," Shield AI President and Co-founder Brandon Tseng said in the statement.

AIDC said the partnership is expected to pave the way for the Taiwanese firm to produce components of Shield AI's drones in Taiwan and raise local content in the products in the future to eventually allow Taiwan's UAV industry to grow rapidly.

According to Shield AI, the company will demonstrate its innovations at the Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition (TADTE) in Taipei from Thursday to Saturday.

Shield AI, founded in 2015, is a venture-backed defense technology company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems, including the V-BAT aircraft, Hivemind Enterprise and Hivemind Vision product lines.

V-BAT drones used in the Russia-Ukraine war were supplied to Ukrainian forces by Shield AI.