TAIPEI: Anti-drone technology battle-tested in Ukraine is on display at a Taiwanese defense expo that opened Thursday, as arms makers seek to cash in on the island’s efforts to protect itself against a potential Chinese attack.
Taiwan has boosted defense spending in recent years and acquired smaller and more nimble weaponry, including drones, to enable its military to wage asymmetric warfare against its more powerful foe.
But increasing Russian drone attacks on Ukraine have fanned concerns in Taiwan about how the democratic island would fend off swarms of unmanned aerial vehicles in any conflict with China.
Taiwan’s defense ministry is seeking up to $33 billion in special funding to upgrade its military capabilities, including investing in anti-drone technology, a senior lawmaker told AFP last week.
Counter-drone firms at the Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition told AFP they hoped to snatch a share of the market.
“We’d love to penetrate the Taiwanese market,” said Eloi Delort of French AI start-up Alta Ares, whose software has been used against Russian drones in Ukraine.
“I think Taiwan is facing many threats here and they could use our technology either to defend against drones or to do military surveillance,” Delort told AFP.
Taiwanese anti-drone company Tron Future Tech, whose AI systems are used in Taiwan and Ukraine, has seen demand for its technology soar as drones have become critical in warfare.
“It’s huge. It’s crazy,” said Misha Lu, a staff specialist at the company.
“Anti-drone business has contributed to more than half of our revenue and... our company has expanded from 50 people to more than 300 people in only two years,” Lu said.
Tron can produce more than 100 anti-drone systems a month in Taiwan and is expanding production while also considering manufacturing them in Europe and the United States, Lu said.
British military equipment maker BAE Systems said Taiwan’s defense ministry had expressed interest in its anti-drone Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System.
“Everyone’s worried about (drone) swarms, right?” Jonathan Lau, a regional director in the company’s electronic systems business, told AFP.
Having cheap counter-drones would be key for Taiwan in any conflict, Rupert Hammond-Chambers, president of the US-Taiwan Business Council, told reporters this week.
“Sending up F-16s to fire million-dollar missiles at a $10,000 drone is not sustainable,” he said.
“That is a significant challenge that Taiwan has to deal with.”
Taiwan has ramped up military spending over the past decade and is building up its defense industry to make more equipment and ammunition on the island.
But Taipei is under US pressure to do more.
President Lai Ching-te’s government announced last month plans to boost its 2026 defense budget to NT$949.5 billion, or more than three percent of gross domestic product.
It aims to increase spending to five percent of GDP by 2030.
Taiwan was likely to spend a minimum of between $50 billion and $60 billion procuring military equipment and ammunition over the next four years, Hammond-Chambers said.
“About a third of which will go domestic,” he said.
“About two-thirds will go international, most of which will go to the US.”
Anti-drone firms line up to sell battle-tested tech in Taiwan
https://arab.news/6e85y
Anti-drone firms line up to sell battle-tested tech in Taiwan
- Taiwan’s defense ministry is seeking up to $33 billion in special funding to upgrade its military capabilities
- “We’d love to penetrate the Taiwanese market,” said Eloi Delort of French AI start-up Alta Ares
India rolls out strictest anti-pollution curbs as toxic smog engulfs Delhi
- Private monitors in several parts of northern Delhi recorded AQI spikes between 550 and 700s
- Authorities invoked stage four of the capital region’s emergency pollution-control framework
NEW DELHI: India’s capital choked under a thick blanket of smog on Sunday, with the government imposing anti-pollution curbs after monitoring stations in some areas recorded extremely hazardous air quality.
Home to 30 million people, Delhi has not recorded a single “clean air” day in 2025, with Air Quality Index readings hitting high above the 50 score throughout the year.
On the AQI scale from 0 to 500, good air quality is represented by levels below 50, while levels above 300 are dangerous.
Worsening since late October, official records over the weekend were in the severe to severe-plus range of 400–500, but as 24-hour averages, they did not capture the peaks. Private monitors in several parts of North and North West Delhi recorded AQI spikes above 550 and even into the 700s in real-time.
On Saturday evening, the Ministry of Environment’s Commission for Air Quality Management invoked stage four — the highest level — of the Graded Response Action Plan for Delhi and surrounding areas.
To “prevent further deterioration of air quality in the region,” the commission suspended all non-essential construction, shut stone crushers and mining operations, stopped entry of trucks into the capital region, and ordered schools to shift to hybrid classes or online, where possible.
While authorities blamed the pollution on “adverse meteorological conditions,” residents have been demanding more government action.
“The situation is so bad in Delhi that we don’t have any option but to force kids to do online classes. The government has failed us; it has not done anything to address the issue,” said Nabanita Nayak, who decided for her teenage children to attend school online only, despite concerns over their screen addiction.
“If the kids are too much in front of laptops, that’s also an issue. As a mother, I am worried.”
Delhi’s pollution has been worsening since Diwali in late October, when the average AQI has been above 370, or “very poor.” Since mid-November, it has been over 400, which means “severe” air quality, with certain areas recording 500 and above, which is classified as a “hazardous” level.
“I don’t feel proud living in Delhi. It’s the capital city of the country … We talk about being a developed nation by 2047 — we have deadlines,” said Jagriti Arora, who is keeping her 7-year-old daughter at home to prevent allergy flare-ups caused by air pollution.
“The government has to do something … China had a big problem with pollution, but now they’ve managed to bring it down.”
Delhi’s air quality deteriorates in winter due to local emissions and seasonal weather conditions. Cold temperatures and low wind speeds result in a temperature inversion, which traps pollutants close to the ground instead of letting them disperse. This allows emissions from millions of vehicles, ongoing construction, and nearby industrial activity to accumulate in the air. Urban waste burning and dust from construction sites further add to it.
“This is not a new thing. This has been happening now for over 10 years,” Arora said. “You can see it. You don’t need to actually look at an AQI meter to see how bad the pollution is these days.”
