Demetri Sevastopulo, Kathrin Hille, and Ryan McMorrow of the Financial Times report that Beijing’s move leaves a California company rushing to find new battery providers.
Skydio, the US’s largest drone maker and a supplier to Ukraine’s military, faces a supply chain crisis after Beijing imposed sanctions on the company, including banning Chinese groups from providing it with critical components.
Skydio is rushing to find alternative suppliers after Beijing’s move, which also blocks battery supplies from its sole provider, said people familiar with the situation. […]
American officials are concerned about China disrupting US supply chains and provision to Ukraine of drones used in intelligence gathering.
“This is a clarifying moment for the drone industry,” Bry wrote in a note to customers obtained by the Financial Times. “If there was ever any doubt, this action makes clear that the Chinese government will use supply chains as a weapon to advance their interests over ours. […]
China’s sanctions, imposed on October 11, hit several US groups, including privately held Skydio, in retaliation for Washington’s approval of the sale of attack drones to Taiwan. Skydio had recently won a contract with Taiwan’s fire agency. […]
Beijing has in recent years placed sanctions on several US defence companies, including Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Boeing and Anduril Industries, which makes some of the attack drones going to Taiwan.
“While China’s sanctions today target defence and drone manufacturers, tomorrow they will almost certainly expand to other sectors as US-China relations worsen,” said Craig Singleton at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “Batteries and rare earths are just the canary in the coal mine.”
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