AeroVironment and Taiwan's Thunder Tiger sign MOU to study Switchblade launchers on drone boats and co-production

TLDR

• AeroVironment announced on 14 October an MOU with Taiwan's Thunder Tiger to explore uncrewed-systems integration and co-production in Taiwan.¹³
• The first concrete step is a feasibility study of a multi-round Switchblade launcher on Thunder Tiger's unmanned surface vessel.¹³
• Neither side has committed to a contract; scope depends on later formal agreements and approvals.²

AeroVironment (AV) and Thunder Tiger signed the memorandum of understanding at the Association of the United States Army annual meeting in Washington, with AV's chief growth officer Church Hutton and Thunder Tiger chairman Chen Kuan-ju signing, according to Taiwan News.¹³ AV's release describes a framework for evaluating cooperation, including potential integration of select Switchblade configurations with Thunder Tiger's unmanned surface and ground platforms, and using Taiwan's industrial capacity for future unmanned aircraft co-production and co-development.¹ Hutton said modern defence demands rapidly integrating proven capabilities and producing them at scale.¹ AV's release speaks only of evaluating and exploring opportunities.¹

What Taiwanese outlets add

Taiwan Defence, citing Taiwanese outlets, reports that the signing took place on 13 October at Thunder Tiger's stand, in front of a Sea Shark 600 drone boat displayed with a four-round Switchblade 300 launcher. It says Thunder Tiger's new factory in the Dapumei industrial park in Chiayi County, due to be finished by the end of the year, could become a base for joint production.² It also notes that the Taiwan Army has bought the smaller Switchblade 300, and that any co-production of Switchblade technology would still need US export approval.² Taiwan News adds that Thunder Tiger exhibited its Papadelta x Ultrabuggy unmanned ground vehicle, SeaShark 600 drone boat and Overkill first-person-view drone, built with non-Chinese parts.³

Why it matters: the MOU points towards a locally built Taiwanese sea drone carrying a munition the Taiwan Army already fields, and towards Switchblade-related production in Taiwan. It is a non-binding study with no contract, quantities or timeline, so nothing is on the water yet, and export approval would still be required for any co-production.