At the sidelines of the DSET 2025 Annual Forum, Nikkei Asia conducted an exclusive interview with Mark Valentine, Global Head of National Security Strategy at U.S. drone company Skydio, one of the keynote speakers at the international forum. The report also cited the latest policy paper released by DSET’s National Security Program, “Drones for Democracy: U.S.-Taiwan Cooperation in Building a Resilient and China-Free UAV Supply Chain,” which analyzes Taiwan’s unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) development strategy and bilateral cooperation with the United States.
Skydio was sanctioned by Beijing in 2024 for its drone sales to Taiwan. This marked the company’s first time sending a senior executive to participate in a public forum in Taiwan, where Valentine engaged in discussions with Taiwanese, Ukrainian, and international experts and industry representatives on cross-border cooperation in the drone sector. Quoted by Nikkei Asia, Valentine emphasized during his remarks: “No one really cares about drones. What they care about is what the drone can do for them: How can it make them more effective at doing their job? Can it help them accomplish their mission?”
In the interview, Valentine elaborated that this perspective is crucial. “Drones do precisely and only three things: they move, they can sense things, and they can affect things. The reason that is important is when people only focus on the drones, again their mental model is one person holding a controller, flying a drone 2 to 3 kilometers, doing something with it and bringing it back. This creative use of drones that we saw in Ukraine just highlights that they can do way more than that.” he said.
Valentine also highlighted the strategic importance of building a drone test range in Taiwan that can simulate electronic warfare (EW) conditions similar to those seen in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Drawing on Skydio’s experience in Ukraine, he noted that EW had long been underemphasized in U.S. military strategy but has now become a critical factor in modern warfare. “If you’re operating hundreds of drones within a city block in downtown Taipei, they will interfere with each other,” he explained. “Their radio signals are going to interfere. … Having that ability to test that is hugely important. In addition to helping your own industry, you would also [incentivize] other nations to bring their drones here in order to use that range.”
Nikkei Asia also referenced findings from DSET’s latest report, which raised concerns over a recent U.S. executive order signed by former President Donald Trump in June. The directive prioritizes the procurement of domestically made drones by U.S. federal agencies “to the maximum extent permitted by law.” The DSET report warned that this “Buy American” policy could pose challenges for future U.S.-Taiwan drone cooperation, given Taiwan’s current limited export access to the U.S. market.
The report urged the U.S. government to consider extending its existing cooperation models to include Taiwan and to begin verifying and certifying Taiwanese-made UAVs. It also called for increased bilateral cooperation and recommended that Taiwanese drones be added to approved procurement lists. The Trump administration’s directive, however, may create new barriers to such efforts.
Asked about the executive order, Valentine admitted he had not yet “dug into the latest executive order too deeply,” but said it is “one of many steps the U.S. has taken to boost domestic production.” He added, “the lessons we learned, and not only from COVID, but also from the Russian-Ukraine conflict, where drones are an important part of warfare. If they are a critical component, it’s a national security issue. Perhaps we should make sure we have a domestic supply for that.”
Still, he stressed that these measures do not entirely shut out foreign suppliers. “It might create a few more hoops that one has to jump through, but I don’t think it will completely close off the defense [sector],” he said.
The Drones for Democracy report—published in June by DSET—is based on interviews with industry leaders and policymakers, government documentation, and bilateral trade data. It assesses the current state of Taiwan’s drone industry and U.S.-Taiwan cooperation, offering policy recommendations to address challenges within Taiwan’s “Three Goals, Five Strategies” UAV roadmap.
The report proposes that the U.S. government support Taiwan’s drone industry in securing cybersecurity and supply chain integrity certifications as prerequisites for U.S. procurement. It further recommends establishing a Final Assembly and Check-Out (FACO) facility in Taiwan for selected military-grade or modular UAVs co-developed with partners, creating a bilateral certification framework, and launching joint R&D initiatives focused on autonomy and mission software.
