AeroVironment has signed a deal with Taiwanese company Ubiqconn to jointly develop a common drone control system for Taiwan’s expanding indigenous unmanned aircraft program.
The cooperation focuses on integrating AeroVironment’s mission management software with Ubiqconn’s ruggedized controller hardware, creating a standardized interface capable of operating unmanned systems from multiple manufacturers through a single control platform.
Under the agreement, AeroVironment will provide its Kinesis software and associated command-and-control capabilities.
Ubiqconn will supply the controller hardware, support testing and evaluation activities, and engage with Taiwanese drone manufacturers to expand compatibility with locally developed unmanned platforms.
The partnership also includes demonstrations for defense stakeholders and technical evaluations to support future requirements for Taiwan’s drone ecosystem.
With Taipei seeking “to procure tens of thousands of indigenous drones, a common controller ecosystem is essential to reduce training burden, simplify sustainment, and ensure that Taiwan’s growing drone fleet remains interoperable and combat-ready across all services,” said Justin McFarlin, VP of International Business Development for AeroVironment.
Previous Projects
The agreement builds on AeroVironment’s growing presence in Taiwan.
Last year, Taiwan’s National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology signed a cooperation agreement with Virginia-based firm aimed at supporting the development of unmanned and precision-strike capabilities for the Asian country.
The initial focus is on AeroVironment’s JUMP 20 and JUMP 20-X platforms, two drone systems primarily used for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance operations.
Under the partnership, the US company contributes with technical know-how, training, and maintenance support for Taiwan’s unmanned systems programs.
