T-400
SINGAPORE–Taiwanese uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) company Thunder Tiger Group has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with U.S. firm Imsar to develop drones.
The move comes as a group of U.S. defense contractors visited the self-ruled island, which prompted a response by the People’s Liberation Army.
Thunder Tiger said in a statement that the agreement will see Imsar’s synthetic aperture radar installed on its UAS, including the T-400 unmanned helicopter, in both military and commercial domains.
Thunder Tiger is primarily a radio-controlled model manufacturer and only started its unmanned systems division, TTRobotix, in 2015. TTRobotix focuses on unmanned rotary wing systems.
The signing comes days before a visit by about 25 U.S. defense contractors to Taiwan, led by three-star U.S. Marine Corps Gen. (ret.) Steven Rudder. It is the largest contingent since 2019. Numerous local media have reported that the visit’s primary focus is to examine ways to produce defense components in-country.
If by design or coincidence, the U.S. Defense Department on May 1 also awarded General Atomics a $217.6 million contract to supply four MQ-9B systems to Taiwan by 2025.
The Taiwan visit prompted retaliation by China’s People’s Liberation Army. It sent 27 aircraft into the Taiwan air defense identification zone, including one Harbin BZK-005 UAS that encircled Taiwan from north to south. This was the second time Chinese drones reportedly encircled the island. The first was on April 27, when a larger Tengden TB-001 conducted a similar flight.
