In first, Taiwan, US firm to make missile, underwater droneby AFP Staff WritersTaipei (AFP) Sept 18, 2025Taiwan will jointly manufacture a missile and an underwater drone with a US company for the first time, officials said Thursday, as Taipei seeks to boost domestic weapons and ammunition production. Taiwan's National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) agreed earlier this year with US defence firm Anduril to jointly make the company's Barracuda-500, a low-cost, autonomous cruise missile. On Thursday, NCSIST and Anduril signed another agreement to co-produce the company's underwater drone. These are Taiwan's first such agreements with a foreign company, NCSIST president Li Shih-chiang told AFP. The company would "work very closely" with the United States and Taiwan, Chang told AFP.