Washington: Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) has joined a program by a leading global organization to evaluate uncrewed and autonomous systems, becoming its first cybersecurity assessor outside the United States. Under an agreement signed in Washington, the ITRI will provide cybersecurity testing and technical evaluation for unmanned aircraft systems in Taiwan, working as a “Recognized Assessor” for the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), according to an AUVSI statement released.

According to Focus Taiwan, AUVSI President and CEO Michael Robbins expressed that by welcoming ITRI as a Green UAS Recognized Assessor for cybersecurity testing, the organization is expanding access to high-quality, rigorous technical evaluation while maintaining a strong, centralized, and consistent supply chain trust process in the United States. U.S. Undersecretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg noted in a social media post that Taiwan is the only Green UAS program assessor outside the U.S. Helberg emphasized that the agreement will ensure Taiwanese uncrewed aircraft systems meet the highest standards for cybersecurity, safety, and supply chain integrity.

Meanwhile, ITRI welcomed the responsibility, acknowledging that unmanned aerial vehicle development increasingly involves system safety, supply chain trustworthiness, and overall governance. The agreement was signed ahead of the sixth Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue between U.S. and Taiwan officials, which took place in Washington, with Helberg and Taiwan’s Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin representing their respective sides. The two sides agreed to strengthen economic security cooperation in areas such as building drone supply chains to reduce reliance on China, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs.

In a speech at the American think tank Atlantic Council, Kung stated that Taiwan’s role as a trusted partner in non-China supply chains is expanding beyond semiconductors to include drones, artificial intelligence, robotics, and satellites. As global demand for non-Chinese supply chains grows, Taiwan is becoming increasingly needed by the international community, allowing full demonstration of its industrial capabilities, he said.

The AUVSI is the largest nonprofit organization globally that advances uncrewed systems, autonomy, and robotics, representing companies and professionals from more than 60 countries.