The Executive Yuan's proposed Special Act for Indigenous Defense Unmanned Vehicle Procurement failed to win approval in the Legislative Yuan, which instead adopted a version proposed by opposition caucuses, leaving a six-year, NT$240 billion (approx. US$7.6 billion) procurement framework facing uncertainty.
The current aerospace landscape is increasingly marked by a push into satellite connectivity and space-based infrastructure, as SpaceX daringly edges deeper into the more intricate layers underpinning the construction of a proprietary space economy.
The recent disclosure of SpaceX's partnership with Nvidia to deploy Vera CPUs as part of the architecture behind SpaceXAI's Starmind AI satellite was an outright showcase of where the two tech giants are decisively headed in the agentic AI era, as their collaboration deepens into one huge, interconnected ecosystem of orbital compute.
Taiwan aerospace communications equipment maker Yttek said its HyperSDR satellite ground-station modem, developed at the request of the Taiwan Space Agency (TASA), successfully received and decoded high-frequency telemetry signals downlinked from the first FORMOSAT-8 satellite, FORMOSAT-8A, on April 27 this year. The system helped TASA rapidly reconstruct high-resolution optical images of Alibag, India.
The pinnacle of Elon Musk's far-reaching ambitions in orbital compute has come into better view following another major SpaceX announcement to turn the space giant's expanding plans for Starlink V3 and Starmind into a grand Starbase at the heart of Louisiana.
Chinese GPU vendors are beginning to extend their applications beyond terrestrial computing and into space. The recently launched Yunjian Muxi satellite (Jitianxing A-04) carries an intelligent computing payload powered by a domestically developed MetaX GPU, marking an effort to validate Chinese AI chips under real-world space conditions.
LG Energy Solution (LGES) is weighing whether to expand into the US defense supply chain as the EV market remains sluggish and the company broadens into energy storage systems (ESS). The possible move has drawn attention because LG Group has long stayed away from defense businesses since its split with LIG Group.
Chinese commercial rocket maker LandSpace plans to relaunch its reusable Zhuque-3 booster within six months, after the vehicle successfully completed a vertical landing on land in its second test flight last week. The company said the milestone marks not only a technical breakthrough but also the starting point for building a system for inspection, maintenance and reuse, as China's reusable rocket sector accelerates commercialization.
China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has approved Geely-backed Zhejiang Geespace Technology to conduct a two-year commercial satellite Internet of Things (satellite IoT) trial, making it the first privately owned Chinese company authorized to advance such services and signaling a further opening of China's satellite communications market to private-sector players.
Russia's space agency Roscosmos has again delayed development of its first reusable rocket, Amur SPG, with its first launch now reportedly delayed until 2031. That would be five years later than the original concept and three years beyond Russia's public timeline from spring 2026.
The tactical drone market is entering a turning point in which legacy platform suppliers and software-driven startups are competing head-on while also seeking new roles through collaboration. Janes, citing industry sources in Europe, the Middle East and North America, said startups including Anduril, Helsing, Quantum Systems and Stark Defence are accelerating their push into the market and have already caused clear disruption to the tactical drone supply chain, though it is still too early to call the market saturated.
More coverage
