On April 29, 2026, the Research Institute for Democracy, Society, and Emerging Technology (DSET) co-organized a closed-door roundtable titled “Taiwan Shield: Drone Defense Systems in Modern Warfare” together with the Alliance of Democracies, the European Values Center for Security Policy, the Taiwan National Drone Industry Association (TNDIA), and Danish counter-drone manufacturer MyDefence. The event brought together government, industry, and academic representatives from Taiwan and Europe to examine the latest developments in drone and counter-UAS systems on the Middle Eastern and Ukrainian battlefields, and to explore Taiwan-Europe cooperation, the strengthening of Taiwan’s counter-UAS deployment, and pathways for bilateral collaboration.
DSET President Wen-Ling Tu delivered the opening remarks. Dr. Tu noted that over the past year, DSET’s national security team has published three policy reports on Taiwan-U.S., Taiwan-Europe, and Taiwan-Ukraine cooperation, with the aim of providing actionable policy recommendations to the government and its partners while advancing the development of a “non-red” supply-chain drone industrial ecosystem.
Speaking also in her capacity as a member of the Presidential Office’s Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience Committee, where she oversees energy and critical infrastructure, Dr. Tu highlighted that the government formally designated the strengthening of counter-drone systems for critical infrastructure as a key strategic priority in January of this year, making counter-UAS capabilities an equally urgent priority for Taiwan. She noted, however, that compared to the relatively clear procurement timelines and development trajectories already in place for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and unmanned surface vessels (UAS), Taiwan’s counter-UAS acquisition planning and industrial capacity building still have significant room for acceleration. Dr. Tu expressed her hope that the forum would help build consensus among all parties and deepen substantive cooperation with partners to expedite the deployment of these critical capabilities.
At the post-event press conference, DSET Policy Analyst Cathy Fang shared key takeaways from the roundtable. Fang noted that discussions centered on the operational application of counter-drone systems on the Ukrainian battlefield, identifying three core success factors behind Ukraine’s effective employment of counter-UAS capabilities: Adaptability, Layered Defense, and Integration. She emphasized that these lessons carry important implications for Taiwan’s military policy development, industrial strategy, and procurement design. At the same time, Fang cautioned that Taiwan still lacks a coherent strategic framework for counter-UAS development. Significant gaps remain across military doctrine, personnel training, cross-ministerial integration of sensor and data-link systems, and mass production planning. She urged the government to move swiftly to address these shortcomings and strengthen overall preparedness in response to evolving threats.
On the prospects for Taiwan-Europe cooperation, Fang observed that while Taiwan has pursued various forms of cooperation with European partners in the drone sector, existing arrangements have largely remained at the Business-to-Business (B2B) commercial level, with Government-to-Government (G2G) institutional engagement remaining rare. She stressed that elevating current industry-level collaboration to the level of policy dialogue and governmental coordination, and placing Taiwan-Europe drone and counter-UAS cooperation on an institutionalized and sustainable footing, represents a critical priority in the period ahead.
