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Jul 3, 14:11
'Switchblade' drone maker AeroVironment deepens Taiwan supply chain ties
US drone maker AeroVironment has worked closely with Taiwan-based supply chain partners over the past three years, with the company noting that many of its product components are now co-developed and manufactured by both sides. Moreover, the defense tech company has also established a direct communication channel in Taiwan in recent years to support Taiwan's national defense resilience program.

The Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) Listing Review Committee approved TMY Technology Inc.'s application to list on the Taiwan Innovation Board (TIB) on June 30. The proposed listing remains subject to final approval by the TWSE board of directors.

Taiwan's legislature moved defense drone proposals to committee review on July 3 after heated debate, advancing plans to fund a domestic autonomous unmanned vehicles program and prompting a near-term boost in activity across the local drone supply chain. The Executive Yuan had approved a draft special act backed by a special budget of NT$210 billion (US$6.6 billion) for procurement of autonomous defense unmanned vehicles, and rival bills from the Kuomintang and the Taiwan People's Party were also sent to committee review.
The Taiwan Space Agency (TASA) announced on June 30 that the wind data product generated by TRITON, Taiwan's first domestically developed weather satellite, has been upgraded to Version 2.1. The update significantly increases the volume of wind observation data and shortens processing time through an expanded ground station network and improvements to the data processing pipeline.

China's private rocket industry is entering a make-or-break decade, as low-Earth orbit satellite demand, reusable launch technology, and STAR Market reforms drive the race to build a "China SpaceX."

Rocket Lab is taking a major step toward competing more directly with SpaceX, announcing an agreement to acquire satellite communications provider Iridium Communications in an approximately US$8 billion cash-and-stock transaction. The deal transforms Rocket Lab from a launch and spacecraft manufacturer into a fully vertically integrated space company with its own global satellite communications network, a strategy widely viewed by the market as mirroring SpaceX's integrated business model.

The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) issued a request for information (RFI) on June 18 seeking concepts for "low-resource computing" that can operate with almost no electricity, minimal memory, and continued function despite hardware damage. The RFI invited input from academic institutions, companies, and individual inventors and set a July 17 deadline for replies; DARPA said it will follow up with an invitation-only workshop in August in Hanover, New Hampshire, to review promising proposals.
Below are the most-read DIGITIMES Asia stories from the week of June 22-28, 2026:
The global low-Earth orbit satellite industry is moving from buildout to volume growth, with the pace of launches accelerating and supply-chain demand expanding. Eson Precision Industries, a long-term supplier of mechanical parts for the low-Earth orbit satellite chain, expects its operating structure to improve markedly from the second half of 2026 as orders for low-Earth orbit satellites and AI servers advance in tandem.
Japan's Rakuten Group plans to establish a new joint venture with US-based AST SpaceMobile in 2026 to build a dedicated low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communications network for Japan, according to reports by Nikkei and Yomiuri.
Samsung SDI, a battery and electronic materials manufacturer, has entered an agreement to help US-based Forge Nano build a 3 GWh per year battery manufacturing site in Morrisville, North Carolina. The deal capitalizes on both Samsung's desire to avoid US tariffs and the American military's goal to develop non-China supply chains, including in batteries.
Groundhog Technologies is eyeing opportunities in low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite applications by targeting the satellite resource optimization market, according to chairman David Chiou at the company's latest shareholders' meeting on June 24. Chiou also announced that Groundhog has won the first generative AI order worldwide in the field of telecom engineering, with Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) as its client.