TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — US drone maker Skydio says Taiwan needs a test facility that can simulate the electromagnetic warfare conditions seen in Ukraine, Nikkei Asia reported Thursday.
“You can’t learn that unless you actually operate it,” said Mark Valentine, Skydio’s global head of national security strategy, during a visit to Taipei. He told Nikkei Asia that simulating Ukraine-style electronic warfare would give Taiwan’s drone industry a critical edge.
Valentine, who served in the US Air Force for 25 years, said Ukraine has shown the world what creative drone use looks like in modern warfare. He believes Taiwan should use that example to prepare its unmanned systems for a future conflict with China.
President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) has made drones central to Taiwan’s asymmetric defense strategy, with plans for research, testing, and production centers. However, opposition-led budget cuts have stalled progress, including a proposed aerospace park in Chiayi that saw half its funding frozen.
Valentine explained that real-world testing is vital not just for wartime performance but for civilian drone use as well. In dense urban environments like Taipei, he warned, hundreds of drones operating together would face severe signal interference.
He also said such a facility could attract foreign partners to test their drones in Taiwan. It would help Taiwan’s drone industry and lead to a highly electronic warfare-resilient drone, he added.
Skydio was sanctioned by China last year over alleged business ties to Taiwan, though its only client here is a local fire agency. Valentine said the company had already diversified its supply chain post-COVID to reduce reliance on Chinese components.
Speaking at a Taipei conference on supply chain resilience, Valentine urged people to focus less on the drone itself, saying, “Drones do precisely and only three things: they move, they can sense things, and they can affect things.” He said there should be more focus on the objective and creative use of drones.
