Palmer Luckey, founder of the defense technology company Anduril, announced Saturday that he has ordered his entire manufacturing operation to be disassembled and physically carried to Taiwan by hand, one component at a time, after President Donald Trump delayed approval of an arms sales package.
«We are not waiting for paperwork,» Luckey said in a statement. «Every employee has been issued a rucksack and a route map. The first shift leaves at dawn. We expect the last conveyor belt to arrive in Taipei by spring.»
The relocation has already transformed the company's California headquarters into a staging ground. Engineers are training for twelve-hour marches carrying circuit boards and titanium housings. A new department of «pedestrian logistics» has been created, with its own uniform: hiking boots, reflective vest, and a company flag that must be carried at all times.
Local residents report that Anduril staff now walk in single file along the Pacific coast, practicing for the ocean crossing. «They asked us to clear the sidewalks,» said one neighbor. «They said it was for national security.»
Taiwanese officials have reportedly offered to meet the first wave of walkers with hot tea and a formal reception. The Pentagon has declined to comment, though a spokesperson noted that «no one has ever tried this before.»
Luckey added that if the arms package remains stalled, he will personally carry the company's largest server rack across the Bering Strait on foot. «We are a defense company,» he said. «We defend by walking.»