The Diplomat author Mercy Kuo regularly engages subject-matter experts, policy practitioners, and strategic thinkers across the globe for their diverse insights into U.S. Asia policy. This conversation with Dorota Maczuga – co-founder of Polylocal, a Taiwan-EU B2B platform based in Kraków, Poland – is the 516th in “The Trans-Pacific View Insight Series.”
Identify the factors for cooperation between Polish and Taiwanese drone companies.
As European nations are pivoting toward autonomous warfare, “compliance-as-a-product” becomes a necessity in the defense industry. Poland is becoming one of the most active countries in this type of companies. This year Poland’s drone company FlyFocus has raised $5.3 million for “Made in Europe” drone manufacturing. The company ensures that all its systems are built using NATO-compliant components and that it retains full ownership of its software.What is the role of Ukraine’s drone industry in Poland-Taiwan drone industry cooperation?Ukraine’s drone industry has rewritten how modern war is fought, and it is visible even to those with little military background. Ukraine’s active battlefield, Poland’s eastern NATO flank, and Taiwan’s ICT excellence – meaning especially non-red electronics – combine into a shared security logic. Taiwan provides the technology, Poland the NATO backing and strategic positioning, Ukraine the battlefield experience and a living revolution in modern warfare.
The trajectory is only going upward, as what we are seeing right now is just the beginning. In June, for the first time, Taiwan Expo was held in Warsaw – and alongside smart energy and urban development, it featured a dedicated zone for unmanned systems and drone technology.
As another example, in December last year, the Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance (TEDIBOA) and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems signed a memorandum of understanding.
Poland is preparing for the war of the future, and it looks like Taiwan’s active hand will remain in the picture.
