Anduril expands and deepens Indo-Pacific footprint

As countries in the Indo-Pacific grapple with increasing threats and decreasing populations, Anduril has expanded and deepened its relationships with South Korea and Taiwan.

Both South Korea and Taiwan are grappling with an intractable set of problems. On the one hand, they are faced with the large and growing offensive capabilities of their neighbors, North Korea and China. On the other hand, their population demographics are not well-suited for a war of national survival. Taiwan recorded 135,000 births in 2024, a record low and the ninth consecutive year of decline, according to Newsweek. Together with South Korea and Japan, these countries are classed as “super-aged societies” with around 20% of their populations comprising people aged 65 or older. With the world’s lowest birthrate, South Korea has seen its armed forces shrink by 20% since 2019. The BBC reported on August 11 that this has resulted in a total strength of around 450,000, with a loss of 17 divisions since 2006.

This is all significant because both China and North Korea would likely pursue offensive strategies, front-loading long-range missile strikes and firepower before any offensive action. Losses would be heavy, and mass would be key to survival. China is thought to have around 2 million personnel in the People’s Liberation Army, and North Korea is typically estimated to have another 1.3 million. China would likely summon many more men to serve in the event of a war over Taiwan and inevitably the US. Mass retains a power that is difficult to address with technology; being more precise and accurate means that more of your munitions are likely to find their target. But it does not alter the need for a lot of munitions if there are a lot of targets. This is perhaps why both South Korea and Taiwan have become a focus of attention for US company Anduril.

In a tour of the region, the company’s CEO, Palmer Luckey, announced that a South Korea office would be established under the leadership of John Kim, the former president of Boeing Korea. He also revealed the delivery of the first Altius loitering munitions to Taiwan, both events covered in separate press releases on August 5. The plans for Korea include a doubling of headcount in the next 12 months, and a partnership with Korean Air’s Aerospace Business Division. This partnership will result in the development of uncrewed aerial systems and licensed production of Anduril products for the Indo-Pacific.

“Anduril is committed to helping the Republic of Korea in its mission to develop a technologically advanced, highly networked armed force with fewer but more precise platforms, leveraging technology like autonomy and artificial intelligence,” John Kim said in the press release.

Taiwan issued a request in 2024 to purchase 291 of the Altius-600M loitering munitions, the same family of weapons the UK MoD procured for Ukraine. According to the press release, Anduril built the Altius munitions at financial risk, enabling rapid delivery. This approach is similar to that taken by other companies like Helsing in its delivery of HF-1 strike munitions to Ukraine. “This is an enormously consequential moment for Anduril and for the free world,” said Palmer Luckey in the press release. This is likely a reference to the speed of the transaction, rather than the capability that the munitions provide Taiwan. Again, it is worth noting that transactions in support of Ukraine have proceeded through delivery at very rapid speeds, showing that a route to achieve rapid defense procurement exists if the will is there.

Perhaps more significant was the announcement of an office in Taiwan and an MoU with NCSIST, Taiwan’s primary defense research institute. “Anduril is here to stay in Taiwan, and we’re building a long-term physical presence to secure that,” Luckey said. The office will support program delivery and supply chain development, and the MoU will focus on AI-enabled command and control as well as uncrewed systems. This has already resulted in the integration of Anduril’s Lattice C2 software into NCSIST systems, the press release states.

Calibre comment

A U.S. Army Soldier assigned to the 2-11 Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team watches 155 mm projectiles sent from the Republic of Korea (ROK) Army’s K9 Thunder, self-propelled howitzers while conducting joint field artillery training exercises on Warrior Base, New Mexico Range, Republic of Korea, March 15, 2015. (US Army photo by Spc. Steven Hitchcock/Released)

South Korea has been aware of its demographic challenges for some time, and this is driving its development of capabilities like the K9A3 howitzer, a system expected to form batteries with two crewed vehicles and two tethered but autonomous vehicles. This type of development is not dissimilar to the US Army’s exploration of the Autonomous Multi-Domain Launcher (AML), which would be able to fire long-range missiles and navigate autonomously. It is easy to see that these concepts increase firepower, and in that sense, they are not too far removed from the idea of loyal wingmen and autonomous submarines. They provide a force with more assets to find and track threats, and more assets to potentially engage them. The application to artillery is particularly compelling as it is ethically and legally quite straightforward. The guns and launchers would be autonomous, but they act as part of a battery, only engaging targets selected and confirmed by humans.

For this to become a viable and successful strategy for a force to rely on for its national survival, the key is unlocking the one-to-many paradigm. Put simply, this means one person controlling several autonomous assets, possibly across domains. Here, Anduril’s Lattice for Mission Autonomy platform may be the most compelling offering, assuming that no competitors enter the same markets.

By Sam Cranny-Evans, published on August 14, 2025.