Paris, April 25 (CNA) Taiwan's Geosat Aerospace & Technology Inc. and France's Cavok UAS have inked a deal to develop "China-free" drones, which the two companies said will meet the needs of clients in democratic countries.
During a contract signing ceremony at the Taipei Representative Office in France on Monday, the company said they planned to develop vertical-take-off-and-landing drones for military and commercial users that are capable of flying for prolonged periods of time.
The as-yet-to-be-developed drone, codenamed CK50-T, will be capable of performing airborne and maritime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), according to the two firms.
Under the partnership, which has no expiry date, the companies said that they will also build a "China-free" supply chain that meets the need of clients in democratic countries.
Fabrice Parodi, chief executive officer of Cavok UAS, told CNA that he hopes the agreement would pave the way for further cooperation, as his company intends to build a production line in Taiwan and extend its reach to the Asia-Pacific region.
Production of the first drone of the partnership, CK50-T No. 1, will be led by Cavok UAS and take place in France with assistance from Geosat employees, according to Geosat Chairman Lo Cheng-fang (羅正方).
The two teams will work together in France to build CK50-T No. 1, and obtain necessary certificates adopting international standards before introducing the model to the global market, Lo said.
The teams will also meet in Taiwan to set up system integration and assembly as they build a subsequent drone, CK50-T No. 2, Lo said, adding that the plan is to mass produce the drones in Taiwan.
Taiwan is better than China for drone manufacturing thanks to its quality production capabilities, cross-industry business clusters and respect for intellectual property rights, Lo said.
Lo said that Cavok UAS was hoping to avoid becoming dependent on Chinese supply chains, adding that more countries were exploring Taiwan as an alternative production center to Shenzhen for drones.
Lo said that Taiwan is also better positioned as a UAV manufacturing base than Southeast Asian countries, which offer cheaper labor but trail behind in terms of maturity of chip and software engineering sectors.
With the UAV market experiencing fast developments, the cooperation between Taiwan and France came timely as they complement each other in research and development capabilities, he said.
"Working with global partners allows Taiwan to bring its strength to full play, increase its resilience in national defense and extend reach to the global market," he said.
