Taiwan gaining a foothold in drone supply chain, but obstacles remain

Taiwanese suppliers are gaining a foothold in Ukraine’s drone supply chain, but costs, the scale of production and continued reliance on Chinese inputs remain major obstacles to further expansion, researchers at a Taiwan-based think tank said.Taiwan exported about 139,000 drones in the first quarter of this year, surpassing the 123,000 drones it exported last year, most of which were destined for Ukraine via Poland and the Czech Republic, the Research Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET) said at its annual forum last month.According to Ukrainian and Taiwanese entities interviewed for an April DSET report, seven Ukrainian firms among 61 drone-related companies were sourcing flight controllers, batteries, motors and other microelectronics from four Taiwanese compan