US President Donald Trump has requested a fiscal year 2027 defense budget of US$1.5 trillion. This represents a nearly 50% increase from fiscal year 2026's roughly US$1 trillion. Trump's goal is clear: rebuild a strong military. Experts expect the budget to significantly boost procurement for expanded naval fleets, advanced aircraft, and new nuclear missile programs.
The Taiwan-UK space supply chain collaboration has taken a significant step forward. Following the September 2025 signing of a five-year memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Taiwan Space Agency (TASA) and the UK's Satellite Applications Catapult (SAC), Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) is set to officially sign an MOU with the UK's largest aerospace industry association, ADS Group, on March 5.
Shield AI recently announced another contract with the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science & Technology (NCSIST). The two parties will jointly promote the research, validation, and deployment of AI flight control unmanned systems. This collaboration will integrate the US military's operational Hivemind platform into NCSIST's intelligent unmanned systems, assisting Taiwan in developing indigenous AI flight control technology. This technology is key for Taiwan's future establishment of drone swarm combat capabilities.
Global investment in the space industry climbed to US$12.4 billion in 2025, surpassing the previous peak of US$10.9 billion set in 2021, according to industry estimates. Seeking to capture a greater share of that growth, Taiwan's national space agency has announced the creation of the island's first space-focused startup accelerator, aimed at lowering barriers to entry and strengthening its position in the global supply chain.
Win Semiconductors (Winsemi), a GaAs wafer foundry, held its earnings conference on February 11. Its fourth-quarter 2025 consolidated revenue reached NT$4.79 billion (approx. US$152.65 million), up 7% quarter-over-quarter and 29% year-over-year, slightly above expectations. Full-year 2025 revenue totaled NT$16.64 billion, down 5% year-over-year.
For Taiwan, the threat of a Chinese blockade is not merely military — it is industrial. Beijing's tightening grip on global technology supply chains has made clear that any conflict could sever the island's access to the materials and components its defense sector depends on. Taipei's response is to build a defense industry that can sustain itself from within.
The global space economy is entering a period of rapid expansion, with global space tech private investment reaching a record US$12.4 billion in 2025. Against this backdrop, Taiwan's National Space Organization (TASA) has launched the country's first space accelerator, "TASA iSPARK." Drawing from international ecosystems such as NASA SBIR Ignite and ESA BIC, the initiative aims to help Taiwanese companies leverage their existing supply chain strengths and translate them into space-qualified performance, enabling entry into the global space supply chain.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced the merger of xAI and SpaceX, creating a new entity valued at an astonishing US$1.25 trillion. However, some have raised concerns that this bold strategic move may prove to be a financial yoke on SpaceX, especially since, from a technical standpoint, it makes more sense to merge xAI with Tesla than with SpaceX.
Taiwan's first domestically developed satellite constellation, Formosat-8, has begun returning detailed images of Earth, marking a milestone in the island's push to expand its presence in the global space industry.
Globe Telecom stated that it will be the first operator in Southeast Asia to offer direct-to-cell satellite connectivity, becoming the second Asian carrier to collaborate with SpaceX on satellite data communications, following Japan's KDDI.
Tesla is expanding simultaneously into self-driving vehicles, artificial intelligence robots, and energy infrastructure. Elon Musk has outlined plans to build US solar manufacturing capacity capable of producing 100 gigawatts annually within three years. The move has ignited an interplanetary contest spanning energy, geopolitics, and intellectual property.
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