Test Marks Big Step in Taiwan’s Bid To Challenge Beijing as World’s Leading Drone-Maker

Free Taiwan is competing to match Communist China as a manufacturer of drones that are increasingly crucial to the defense of American allies from Ukraine and the Middle East to Northeast Asia.Enthusiasm over Taiwan’s drone industry has risen with a test on Friday of drones piloted by the San Diego company Shield AI and Taiwan’s National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology. The two jointly announced they had successfully tested artificial intelligence that autonomously directed three Mighty Hornet unmanned vehicles on a search mission over a wide area while avoiding no-fly zones.The president of Shield AI, Brandon Tseng, exulted that the test’s success “greatly enhances the defense capabilities” that “Taiwan needs to deter conflict with China. “You can build ten million drones, but you can’t train ten million drone pilots,” he said.In an earlier exercise in late July, Shield AI paired its software with unmanned surface vessels made by a Taiwan company, Thunder Tiger. An official with that company described the exercise as “an important step … in delivering increasingly sophisticated autonomous systems that strengthen Taiwan’s defense posture.”The project marks a big step in Taiwan’s bid to build up defenses against Communist China while relying on Washington’s commitment to defend the self-governing island. Taiwan counts on America for military aid and expertise even though the two have not had formal relations since President Carter transferred recognition from the Nationalist regime at Taipei to the Communist one at Beijing in December 1978.The collaboration also offers benefits for American drone manufacturers, which are anxious to break away from their current reliance on Communist China for components. However Beijing still enjoys advantages because of its size and wealth.The Singapore network Channel News Asia quoted a nuclear futures fellow with the Ploughshares Fund, Hao Nan, as noting China’s “greater capacity to scale production, accelerate iteration and influence supply chains that other economies cannot quickly replace, especially at wartime.”Still, a Republican congressman from Texas, Michael McCaul, sees potential for Taiwan to take the lead in producing intricate components for American drones. Taiwan’s Central News Agency quoted Mr. McCaul saying that he is “very optimistic” about the Taiwan drone industry and hopes American manufacturers can break their dependence on China.“You don’t want your supply chain compromised by your adversary,” CNA quoted him as saying.Adding to the incentive, America’s National Defense Authorization Act, as of this year, authorizes American and Taiwan companies to work together on manufacturing drones and counter-drone systems. That provision marks a break from longstanding reluctance to put such a deal in writing.Apart from strategic considerations, Taiwan can offer American companies greater intellectual property protection and cybersecurity than China can, Mr. McCaul told CNA.The congressman noted that Taiwan companies are seeking to reassure American firms by certifying their drones are free of Chinese parts. “I think it’s in both of our interests,” he said. “We export things that obviously end up in the wrong hands sometimes.”While in Taiwan, Mr. McCaul met the president of the Republic of China, Lai Ching-te, at the opening of 10 days of military exercises. A Patriot missile system, camouflaged by netting, was visible in a park.Without naming China, a spokeswoman delicately said the idea was to make sure the government could endure in the face of “unforeseen circumstances.”

Test Marks Big Step in Taiwan’s Bid To Challenge Beijing as World’s Leading Drone-Maker

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