US Defense Startups Sign 13 Taiwan Drone Deals Since Sept 2025

US defense companies and startups have signed at least 13 deals with Taiwanese hardware firms since September 2025 to build a drone supply chain that steers clear of China, Joyu Wang reports in the Wall Street Journal.

American drone-tech startups like HavocAI are, in Wang's phrase, "swarming into Taiwan" with the encouragement of U.S. government matchmakers. The partners named range from small firms up to Anduril Industries, whose drone contracts with Taipei have "already passed the $1 billion mark," per WSJ.

The partnerships are starting to show up on bills of materials. Shield AI now sources 16 percent of its V-BAT hardware from Taiwanese suppliers, up from under 1 percent in 2024, and is targeting 25 percent. Co-founder and president Brandon Tseng told reporters at an October 2 media gathering that "the V-BAT's radar lets it operate around the Taiwan Strait even under cloud cover."

Hardware is arriving in parallel. Shield AI this month delivered its first V-BAT to Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration, with 12 total due in the coming months under a program the Coast Guard competitively selected in July. Taiwan's Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) handles local logistics, maintenance and training. At an October 7 ceremony at the Port of Taipei, the Coast Guard presented the aircraft to Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-Ling and National Security Council Secretary General Joseph Wu. "V-BAT will give Taiwan's Coast Guard the maritime domain awareness and intelligence picture needed across the Taiwan Strait," Tseng said.

Taiwan's legislature approved roughly $7 billion in drone procurement over six years in August. It is one slice of a broader China-exposure pattern driving hundreds of our tracked AI stories each quarter.