Taiwan sealed a partnership deal on Tuesday with U.S. and German-based Auterion for drone software battle-tested in Ukraine to help strengthen the island’s defences against growing military threats from giant neighbour China. Auterion, whose software is used in Ukrainian drones operating combat missions against Russia, said the deal could eventually lead to the technology being used in millions of drones for Taiwan. China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has ramped up its military pressure over the past five years, including staging half a dozen rounds of war games. Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Taiwan has been studying how Ukraine has deployed drones, both in the air and at sea, to successfully offset Russia’s numerical advantage on the battlefield, given China’s forces also outnumber Taiwan’s. Auterion said it had agreed to a strategic partnership with Taiwan’s defence ministry’s research and development arm, the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, for uncrewed systems and drone swarming software. “What we’re bringing to the table has been combat-proven in Ukraine to deter aggression and destroy tanks, naval assets, and other really expensive equipment. So by building a large autonomous fleet, Taiwan can deter China,” Auterion’s chief executive Lorenz Meier told Reuters. “The partnership is super long-term. So I think in terms of, if you’re trying to put that in number of drones or dollars, we’re expecting millions of drones eventually over multiple years and hundreds of millions of dollars in value that’s being created,” he added, speaking at a ministry-organised sea drone exhibition at the northeastern Taiwanese port of Suao.

Full report : Taiwan seals Ukraine combat-tested drone software deal to help deter China.