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Friday 29 May 2026

Taiwan turns to AI and drones as defense demand rises

Former US Pacific Army commander Charles Flynn led a defense and aerospace industry delegation to Taiwan and attended the 2026 Taiwan-US Defense Industry Forum organized by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) on May 28. Relying heavily on US arms sales, Taiwan is stepping up its use of AI and unmanned systems to strengthen defense resilience in response to shifting Chinese military tactics.

Thursday 28 May 2026

Taiwan's Thunder Tiger rejects China supply chain claims, advances to Phase II of US Drone Dominance Program

Taiwanese drone manufacturer Thunder Tiger, the first company in Asia to obtain the US Department of Defense's (DoD) Blue UAS cybersecurity certification, has passed the first phase of evaluation for the US Drone Dominance Program (DDP) and has moved into the second phase.

Thursday 28 May 2026

Pentagon ramps AI adoption and moves to buy 200,000 small drones by 2027

The US Department of Defense announced a rapid expansion of artificial intelligence use alongside an accelerated drone procurement push, reporting that AI user numbers rose from about 80,000 to about 1.5 million in one year and launching a program to buy 200,000 small lethal drones by 2027, with a budget cap of US$1.1 billion. The announcements were made at SOF Week 2026 in Tampa, Florida. They detailed the department's intent to embed AI across enterprise, intelligence, and operational layers to speed decisions and improve battlefield lethality.

Thursday 28 May 2026

Airbus warns A350 and A320neo delivery delays could persist through 2030

Airbus told airline customers that deliveries of A350 and A320neo family aircraft will be slower than planned over the next few years, with average delays of about one to two months and some impacts lasting through 2030, according to Aviation Week. Executives said supply chain and capacity constraints identified during recent plant transfers and supplier quality issues had not been fully resolved, creating knock-on effects for final assembly schedules.

Thursday 28 May 2026

QRT eyes aerospace, defense growth with portable chip radiation tester

South Korean semiconductor testing company QRT is expanding its equipment business with a portable chip radiation reliability testing system, aiming to build a larger presence in aerospace and defense markets.

Wednesday 27 May 2026

Taiwan's quiet fix for GPS-denied drones and satellites

At the Plug and Play May Summit in Sunnyvale, a Taiwanese startup called Aegiverse quietly made its case to US defense and aerospace investors — not with flashy slides or moonshot promises, but with a 16-year track record and a business model built to last.

Wednesday 27 May 2026

Thunder Tiger, Elan eye defense and commercial drone markets

Thunder Tiger said on May 26 that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Elan Microelectronics to jointly develop AI guidance, image-recognition, and communications technologies for drones, marking a step in the drone maker's shift beyond unmanned vehicle system integration.

Saturday 23 May 2026

Interview: XCaliber challenges million-dollar missile defenses with cheap drone interceptors

The Ukraine War and ongoing tensions in the Middle East have exposed a technological revolution reshaping modern warfare: the rise of cheap drones. These developments, along with AI-powered decision-making and the growing importance of resilient supply chains, are increasingly occupying the minds of military strategists — from great powers to smaller upstarts.

Friday 22 May 2026

US-Japan cooperation could protect Taiwan '99%', defense investors told at Silicon Valley summit

Taiwan's semiconductor industry and the military implications of a potential cross-strait conflict dominated the aerospace and defense track on the second day of the Plug and Play Silicon Valley May Summit, as investors and defense technology executives described a geopolitical environment that is fundamentally reshaping where capital flows and why.

Thursday 21 May 2026

Nvidia's China hopes dim as Beijing doubles down on domestic AI chips

Nvidia's H200 was a major focus after the Trump-Xi meeting, but hopes for sales into China have faded after US President Donald Trump's latest remarks. Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping is firmly committed to developing domestic AI chips, leaving little room for common ground on the issue.

Thursday 21 May 2026

Taiwan moves to restore drone procurement funding after legislature cuts defense budget

Taiwanese President Ching-te Lai warned that sweeping cuts to drone procurement funding by the Legislative Yuan could weaken the island's defense readiness and undermine stability across the Taiwan Strait, as the government moves to restore funding through new budget proposals and supplemental allocations.

Wednesday 20 May 2026

South Korea's defense chips 99% import-dependent as photonic supply chain crisis looms

Photonic semiconductors have become indispensable to modern defense — prized for their ultra-high-speed data processing, high capacity, low power consumption, and exceptional reliability. Yet despite their growing strategic importance, South Korea remains almost entirely dependent on foreign suppliers for these critical components. Industry leaders are now sounding the alarm: as global supply chains fracture along geopolitical lines, photonic semiconductors are no longer just industrial goods — they are national security assets, and South Korea's access to them is far from guaranteed.

Wednesday 20 May 2026

South Korea turns defense contracts into quantum's commercialization launchpad

South Korea's leading defense contractor, LIG Defense & Aerospace, and the state-backed Agency for Defense Development are accelerating efforts to move quantum defense technologies from labs into operational deployment, as industry players argue that military and public-sector demand will be the key catalyst for commercialization before broader private-sector adoption takes hold.

Wednesday 20 May 2026

US military to send personnel to Ukraine to learn drone and battlefield networking lessons

US defense leaders announced plans to place more military personnel and officials in Ukraine to study drone warfare and battlefield networking so lessons can be folded into US planning and budgets. Defense leadership said the effort aims to capture real-world experience under combat conditions and accelerate the adoption of drone, counter-drone and networking capabilities across the force.

Monday 18 May 2026

Getac gains from drone and defense demand as rugged PC supply chain struggles

Rising global geopolitical tensions are driving up defense budgets worldwide and boosting demand for rugged computers. Getac expects rugged computer shipments to grow by a double-digit percentage in 2026, driven mainly by defense demand. Additionally, demand related to drones has increased significantly and is expected to account for 5-10% of rugged computer revenue over the next 12 months.

Monday 18 May 2026

Taiwan sends largest-ever drone delegation to Xponential 2026 as US eyes edge computing

Taiwan assembled its largest-ever delegation for the "Taiwan Pavilion" at the Xponential 2026 exhibition co-hosted by the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), which ran from May 11 to 15 in Detroit. The delegation aimed to show the international community Taiwan's commitment and capabilities in building a core hub for the global non-China drone supply chain.

Sunday 17 May 2026

Thunder Tiger and Shield AI team up on autonomous naval drones for Taiwan's asymmetric defense

Thunder Tiger Group, a Taiwanese defense and unmanned systems manufacturer, said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with US defense technology company Shield AI to integrate the American firm's Hivemind autonomous software into Thunder Tiger's unmanned platforms, beginning with its Sea Shark unmanned surface vessel.

Saturday 16 May 2026

Column: Orbit are now battlefields—how the world's powers are militarizing space

In April 2024, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) executed one of the most significant overhauls of its military architecture in decades. The former Strategic Support Force was disbanded and reorganized into three distinct branches: the Military Aerospace Force, the Cyberspace Force, and the Information Support Force. Together with the existing Joint Logistics Support Force, these constitute a new four-branch support structure — one designed not merely to support terrestrial warfare, but to dominate the space domain itself.

Friday 15 May 2026

Taiwan industry maintains support for non-China supply chain push despite drone budget setback

Taiwan's legislature recently passed the final version of a special defense budget totaling NT$780 billion (approx. US$24.75 billion), but drone-related funding was not approved. The decision has drawn attention from Taiwan's domestic drone industry, with groups including the Taiwan Defense Industry Development Association (TW-DIDA) and Taiwan National Drone Industry Association (TNDIA) issuing statements calling for continued efforts to strengthen Taiwan's democratic supply chain.

Monday 11 May 2026

Dayuan 1Q26 rebounds on North America broadband and defense orders

Dayuan Optoelectronics' consolidated revenue for the first quarter of 2026 reached NT$443 million (US$14.11 million), a 42.7% increase year on year, driven by North American broadband infrastructure demand and defense project deliveries. The company said this momentum is expected to strengthen from the third quarter of 2026 as BEAD-funded broadband spending accelerates and additional defense contracts move into execution.

Thursday 7 May 2026

Pentagon deploys 100,000 AI agents, escalating algorithm warfare with China

The Pentagon has deployed more than 100,000 AI agents through its GenAI.mil platform, marking a broader shift toward algorithm-driven warfare and expanding the US military's push into AI-powered combat operations.

Tuesday 5 May 2026

European delegation meets Taiwan industry to bolster counter-drone cooperation

A European delegation's closed-door talks with Taiwanese industry on counter-drone systems highlight accelerating global security implications as drone warfare evolves rapidly, informed by combat lessons from Ukraine and the Middle East; increased drone proliferation is driving urgent demand for multinational cooperation in technology, strategy, and logistics globally.

Monday 4 May 2026

MIT Technology Review outlines 10 key AI trends shaping the future

In the fast-moving and often noisy world of AI, what truly merits attention? MIT Technology Review has long tracked the field's evolution to map its next directions. Their latest annual insight highlights 10 key themes that capture major AI trends, breakthroughs, and shifts in power dynamics driving innovation today and shaping tomorrow's possibilities.

Wednesday 29 April 2026

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense plans to deploy robotic dogs for unmanned reconnaissance

Ghost Robotics, a leading US maker of robotic dogs, has confirmed collaboration with Taiwanese manufacturers to eliminate reliance on the red supply chain. Beyond adoption by the US Department of Defense, Ghost Robotics is targeting Taiwan's military needs for unmanned capabilities. The Ministry of National Defense (MND) recently announced that Taiwan's armed forces have comprehensive plans for unmanned vehicles across land, sea, and air domains. This includes introducing quadruped robotic dogs designed for deep-area and urban combat missions such as reconnaissance, enemy elimination, and logistics support.

Monday 27 April 2026

Taiwan's NCSIST partners with Saronic to advance autonomous maritime capabilities

Taiwan's National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) said on April 24 that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Saronic, a US unmanned surface vessel (USV) developer, to develop autonomous maritime systems.

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