Defence tech revolution redefining battlefield

Palmer Luckey, founder of Anduril Industries, visited Taiwan earlier this month. The billionaire had a stark message for the island’s next generation of IT engineers: In the face of a mounting threat from mainland China, the survival of their democracy might well depend on them.

- Peter Apps

In Asia for the opening of a new office in Taiwan and agreement of a production deal with South Korea, Mr Luckey announced the delivery to the island of Anduril’s Altius “loitering munitions”, within six months, he said, of the contract being signed.

It was a reminder of the way in which unmanned systems and the AI that increasingly operates them are redefining a defence sector more often known for huge delays and cost overruns.

Such systems have created a new generation of “defence tech” whose political connections are often as significant as the new technology they wield.

But Mr Luckey’s speech to Taiwan's Artificial Intelligence Academy at its national university on the outskirts of the capital made a rather different point. It was that Taiwan itself must also move forward with its own defence technology revolution, emulating Ukraine where hundreds of small firms have proven crucial to national survival against Russian invasion by building hundreds of thousands of combat, strike and surveillance drones a month.

“Taiwan is on the verge of a techno-industrial renaissance for its national defence,” Mr Luckey said, arguing that it had the workforce, industry, government enthusiasm and available private capital to leap ahead of many other nations.

The weaponry as well as systems produced by firms like Anduril are fast becoming central to US-led strategic planning in both Europe and the Pacific. They are now already tested in battle in Ukraine and increasingly critical to the plans of US commanders to defend Taiwan if it is attacked by China — or indeed if Russia attacked deeper into Eastern Europe.

Anduril’s aggressive approach this year has seen it race ahead with building its “Arsenal-One” facility in Ohio, an enormous manufacturing plant that hopes to have its first weapons systems in production by the start of 2026.