Taipei, Taiwan —
Taiwan has unveiled a prototype cruise missile, developed jointly with a US arms maker and set to be manufactured on the island, as it tries to build up its weapons industry to deter any possible military threats from China.
The government-owned National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST), Taiwan’s top arms manufacturer, showcased the “low-cost autonomous cruise missile” it developed together with Anduril Industries, a relative newcomer to the ranks of American defense contractors, ahead of the island’s largest defense expo that began Thursday.
China views Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to seize it – by force if necessary. Under leader Xi Jinping, China has intensified military, diplomatic and economic pressure on Taiwan, regularly sending fighter jets and warships, looking to squeeze its presence on the world stage.
In the face of the China threat, Taiwan President Lai Ching-te recently announced that Taiwan will raise defense spending to 5% of its GDP before 2030.
Adapted from Anduril’s Barracuda-500, an autonomous, low-cost loitering ammunition launched from aircraft that is undergoing tests by the US military, the new land-mobile missile can be used against targets at sea or on land. NCSIST did not give a range for the missile.
Taiwan aims to roll out the production line of the missile in the next year and a half, capping the cost per missile at approximately $216,000, NCSIST President Li Shih-chiang, told reporters on Wednesday.
“The entire supply chain of the missile will be in Taiwan. That is the overall direction of all future cooperation,” Li said.
The NCSIST also displayed a prototype of an underwater drone and an underwater autonomous mobile mine that it aims to jointly develop and produce with Anduril.
Washington is Taiwan’s main international backer and security guarantor and for decades has been the primary supplier of weapons to Taipei. In recent years, however, US deliveries have been slowed as demand for weapons worldwide has surged, straining American manufacturers.
CNN has reached out to the Pentagon and Anduril for comment.
Li, president of NCSIST, added that the institute will sign two contracts and four memorandums of understanding with six US and Canadian companies during the three-day defense trade show.
During a visit to Taiwan last month, Anduril founder Palmer Luckey hailed the island’s manufacturing capabilities and technological prowess.
“Taiwan is on the verge of a techno industrial renaissance in national defense, one that’s built on top of its techno industrial renaissance in consumer electronics, in industrial electronics, one that’s made Taiwan the envy of the world,” Luckey said.
Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun lashed out at “external military interference” on Taiwan at an annual defense forum in Beijing on Thursday.
“We will never allow any separatist plot for Taiwan independence to succeed, and we stand ready to thwart any external military interference at any time,” Dong told defense officials, military personnel and scholars gathered at the Beijing Xiangshan Forum.
Dong also condemned “Cold War mentality, hegemonism and protectionism” – phrases that Beijing has long used to criticize the US – and called for countries to stand up against “bullying acts.”
Last week, Dong raised the issue of Taiwan – the reddest of red lines for Beijing – in his first call with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, warning that any attempt to use the island to contain China is “doomed to fail.”
