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Aug 17, 11:25
US drone tariff tests whether allies can truly replace China

Washington has spent years tightening controls on Chinese technology across strategically important supply chains. That playbook is now expanding into drones, where the Trump administration's latest tariffs seek not only to restrict Chinese market access but to reshape the economics of the broader unmanned-aircraft supply chain.

Taiwan's government approved a four-year ocean technology and industry development program for 2027-2030 and will seek more than NT$8 billion in funding. The plan was designed to strengthen maritime security, expand scientific research, and improve industrial competitiveness as Taipei responds to growing pressure in its surrounding waters.
Taiwanese aerospace manufacturer Aerospace Industrial Development (AIDC) stated that its AIxVNAV vision-based unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) navigation and positioning system has passed another test through a competition, following a successful live flight demonstration in May. AIDC, together with partner US spatial intelligence company Vantor Holdings, completed a 2-kilometer autonomous flight mission under GPS-denied test conditions at Taiwan's recent 2026 Presidential Cup Drone Competition.

Amid escalating geopolitical tensions, defense awareness is rising rapidly worldwide, with drone and counter-drone technologies becoming key areas of development for governments and defense industries. Taiwan is also continuing to upgrade technologies for radar detection, missile defense, and other military systems.

DIGITIMES expects SpaceX to further accelerate Starlink satellite deployments in 2027, expanding network capacity and supporting faster rollout of its direct-to-cell (D2C) services.
Japan's H3 rocket No. 9 lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture at around 4:23 a.m. on August 11, successfully placing Michibiki 7, part of the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), into orbit. QZSS is often called Japan's GPS. The mission marked H3's first successful launch of a major operational satellite since its failed launch in late 2025.

Taiwan-based optical lens maker Zhong Yang Technology is benefiting from redirected orders from Europe and the US as customers seek alternatives to China-made components, a shift the company expects to drive sharp growth in its drone lens business through 2027.

Lite-On Technology reported strong revenue growth in the first seven months of 2026, fueled by demand for AI, cloud, and LEO satellite power systems. The results underscore how the company's overseas production strategy, especially in Vietnam, is becoming central to its growth as customers seek more resilient supply chains.

Ubiqconn Technology reported its second-quarter 2026 results and said July revenue strengthened as satellite applications became a bigger growth driver. The company said consolidated revenue in July reached about NT$182 million (US$5.65 million), up 28% from June and 18% from a year earlier, while cumulative revenue for the first seven months totaled about NT$1.124 billion, narrowing the year-over-year decline to 14%.

California's satellite manufacturing sector kept growing despite high costs and strict regulation, as startups and established operators expanded across San Jose, Sunnyvale, and Los Angeles. According to SpaceNews, the state remained a central hub for the U.S. space supply chain because of its talent base, venture funding, customer access, and the ability to repurpose office space.
China's Long March 7A Y18 rocket exploded in mid-air shortly after launching from Wenchang, Hainan, on the evening of August 10, with its ChinaSat-4B satellite payload believed to have been completely lost. Chinese authorities later confirmed that the mission had failed because of an in-flight anomaly but have yet to disclose the cause, leaving uncertainty over whether the incident stemmed from a system malfunction or the activation of the flight termination system.

Foxconn is extending decades of expertise in electronics manufacturing, system integration, and assembly, integration and testing (AIT) into the space industry. Through its Pearl satellite missions, the Foxconn Research Institute (FRI) is collecting first-hand data on communications links, orbital operations, and the space environment while giving group-developed hardware an opportunity to establish flight heritage.