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Press Releases U.S. Government

The US-Taiwan Business Council Welcomes the Sale to Taiwan of 4 MQ-9B SeaGuardian Surveillance Drones

(Arlington, Virginia, November 3, 2020)

The US-Taiwan Business Council today welcomed the announcement of a possible Foreign Military Sale to Taiwan of 4 Weapons-Ready MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft and related equipment. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this proposed arms sale on November 3, 2020.

The published Congressional Notification (transmittal number 20-74) has a total expected program cost of US$600 million. The proposed sale consists of 4 Weapons-Ready MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft, 2 Fixed Ground Control Stations, 2 Mobile Ground Control Stations, and 14 Embedded Global Positioning System/Inertial Navigations Systems (EGI) with Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module. It also includes targeting and electronic surveillance measures systems, SeaVue patrol radars, data terminals, transponders, engines, secure communications and other equipment, spare and repair parts, training and engineering support, and other related elements of logistical and program support.

In response to this notification, the fifth involving Taiwan within the last two weeks, US-Taiwan Business Council President Rupert Hammond-Chambers said, “Taiwan continues to expand its existing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) infrastructure. Adding the SeaGuardian platform will provide Taiwan with substantial new maritime surveillance capabilities. This is a crucial mission for the Taiwan Navy, particularly given the PLA’s aggressive incursions in regional waters and in the Taiwan Strait. We can expect Taiwan to further expand this capability in the coming years.

Hammond-Chambers added “Taiwan is hitting its stride in its efforts to modernize and develop its military capacity. SeaGuardian is a top-rated platform, and this sale reflects an adjustment by the Trump Administration to make available new capabilities – such as drones – to U.S. friends and allies to complicate PLA planning. American policy towards Taiwan should indeed include consideration of all platforms that enhance Taiwan’s defensive posture while also improving Northeast Asian security.

Source: See the DSCA website at https://www.dsca.mil/press-media/major-arms-sales

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Past Events

October 2-4, 2016 – US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference 2016

US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference 2016
US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference 2016

Event: US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference 2016

October 2-4, 2016
Williamsburg, Virginia

The US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference 2016 will be held October 2-4, 2016 in Williamsburg, Virginia. This will be the fifteenth annual event in a series of ongoing conferences addressing the future of U.S. defense cooperation with Taiwan, the defense procurement process, and Taiwan’s defense and national security needs.

This year, conference sessions will consider the regional situation in the Asia-Pacific and its potential impact on Taiwan’s self-defense, along with U.S. participation in Asia in light of the upcoming U.S. presidential election. A discussion on the process of U.S.-Taiwan defense cooperation will be followed by three sessions examining the past, present, and future of such cooperation, each with a specific focus on shipbuilding, airpower, and ground-based systems. Finally, we will consider how U.S.-Taiwan cooperation on information & electronic systems could allow U.S. and Taiwan companies to work together.

The first conference in this series was the St. Petersburg, Florida event where former Taiwan Minister of National Defense Tang Yiau-ming gave the keynote address in March of 2002. The second conference in the series was held in February 2003 in San Antonio, Texas, the third in October 2004 in Phoenix, Arizona, the fourth in September 2005 in San Diego, California, the fifth in September 2006 in Denver, Colorado, and the sixth in September 2007 in Annapolis, Maryland. Taiwan’s Minister of National Defense Chen Chao-min gave the keynote address at the seventh conference in the series, held in September 2008 on Amelia Island, Florida. The eighth conference was held in September 2009 in Charlottesville, Virginia, the ninth in October 2010 in Cambridge, Maryland, and the tenth in September 2011 in Richmond, Virginia. The eleventh conference was held in September 2012 in Hershey, Pennsylvania, the twelfth in September 2013 in Annapolis, Maryland, the thirteenth in October 2014 in Williamsburg, Virginia, and the fourteenth in October 2015 in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Keynote Addresses & Conference Program
Keynote speakers will include senior representatives from Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense and from the U.S. government. US-Taiwan Business Council Chairman Dr. Paul Wolfowitz will be the conference host.

Sessions at the US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference feature a moderator and several speakers on the panel, and some sessions may include additional commentators. Each speaker gives a short presentation on the session topic from his or her own viewpoint and expertise. Those presentations are then followed by a moderator-led discussion among the panelists, as well as a moderator-driven question and answer period with the attendees. This format offers the maximum amount of time for exchanges among the panelists, as well as between the panel and the audience, allowing the sessions to become a forum for substantial and valuable interaction and discussion.

Registration is now open at the 2016 US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference website.

Categories
Past Events

October 4-6, 2015 – US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference 2015

US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference 2015

Event: US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference 2015

October 4-6, 2015
Williamsburg, Virginia

The US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference 2015 will be held October 4-6, 2015 in Williamsburg, Virginia. This will be the fourteenth annual event in a series of ongoing conferences addressing the future of U.S. defense cooperation with Taiwan, the defense procurement process, and Taiwan’s defense and national security needs.

This year, conference sessions will consider Taiwan’s Legislative and Presidential elections in January of 2016 and their potential impact on the island’s defense posture. We will examine potential evolutionary changes and new approaches for Taiwan, how new intellectual concepts could inform future military strategy, and how such changes in strategy might play out in procurement, arms sales, indigenous development, and budgeting. Panelists will also discuss Taiwan’s air & missile defense objectives, focusing on potential strategic changes and reviewing potential future options. Finally, we will provide an update on last year’s session on Taiwan’s indigenous submarine programs, provide insight into the progress that has been made a year later, and discuss how best to ensure continued forward momentum.

The first conference in this series was the St. Petersburg, Florida event where former Taiwan Minister of National Defense Tang Yiau-ming gave the keynote address in March of 2002. The second conference in the series was held in February 2003 in San Antonio, Texas, the third in October 2004 in Phoenix, Arizona, the fourth in September 2005 in San Diego, California, the fifth in September 2006 in Denver, Colorado, and the sixth in September 2007 in Annapolis, Maryland. Taiwan’s Minister of National Defense Chen Chao-min gave the keynote address at the seventh conference in the series, held in September 2008 on Amelia Island, Florida. The eighth conference was held in September 2009 in Charlottesville, Virginia, the ninth in October 2010 in Cambridge, Maryland, and the tenth in September 2011 in Richmond, Virginia. The eleventh conference was held in September 2012 in Hershey, Pennsylvania, the twelfth in September 2013 in Annapolis, Maryland, and the thirteenth in October 2014 in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Keynote Addresses & Conference Program
Keynote speakers will include senior representatives from Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense and from the U.S. government. US-Taiwan Business Council Chairman Dr. Paul Wolfowitz will be the conference host.

Sessions at the US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference feature a moderator and several speakers on the panel, and some sessions may include additional commentators. Each speaker gives a short presentation on the session topic from his or her own viewpoint and expertise. Those presentations are then followed by a moderator-led discussion among the panelists, as well as a moderator-driven question and answer period with the attendees. This format offers the maximum amount of time for exchanges among the panelists, as well as between the panel and the audience, allowing the sessions to become a forum for substantial and valuable interaction and discussion.

Registration is now open at the 2015 US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference website.