Maxar said the Raptor Guide software can allow an autonomous system to navigate with precision without GPS. Photo: Maxar 

Maxar Intelligence entered into a partnership with Taiwan’s Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) to deploy Maxar’s Raptor software suite across Taiwan’s unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) industry, the company announced Friday.

AIDC will drive the adoption of Raptor across Taiwan’s UAV supply chain and promote use of the software across the AIDC-chaired Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunity Alliance (TEDIBOA).

Raptor software is designed to enable autonomous drones to navigate precisely and extract accurate ground coordinates in the absence of GPS. Maxar said it successfully field tested Raptor in Taiwan earlier this year, in which the test platform was able to maintain precise navigation under GPS-denied conditions using only its native camera and Maxar’s software. The company said the test led to the partnership.

“Taiwan is rapidly building one of the most advanced UAV industries in the world, and AIDC is one of the companies leading the charge,” said Anders Linder, General Manager, International Government at Maxar Intelligence. “Taiwanese UAV manufacturers are acutely aware of the importance of building resilience against GPS jamming, and AIDC has validated the unique capabilities of our Raptor software. By combining our geospatial intelligence with AIDC’s aerospace expertise, we’ll help Taiwan’s UAV industry maintain its forward momentum, accelerating autonomy across warfighting, humanitarian, and commercial operations.”