US Drone-maker Searching for Alternate Battery Suppliers After Chinese Sanctions

Recent Chinese sanctions against American drone-maker Skydio will limit the company’s battery supply, the firm’s CEO said this week, calling the restrictions an “attempt to eliminate the leading American drone company and deepen the world’s dependence on Chinese drone suppliers.”

China sanctioned Skydio and other U.S. defense firms in early October for their involvement in arms sales to Taiwan, freezing their assets in China and prohibiting Chinese companies from carrying out certain transactions with the firms (see 2410100005).

The sanctions are an “attack” on Skydio and its customers, CEO Adam Bry said in an Oct. 30 statement. Bry said Skydio had sold drones to Taiwan’s National Fire Agency, adding that the company is “proud to support critical infrastructure operators, first responders, and allied militaries around the world. We’re proud to support Taiwan, and we are undeterred.”

But he also said the sanctions have hit Skydio’s battery supply chain, which sources battery parts from China. Although the company has a “substantial stock of batteries on hand,” it doesn’t expect to begin sourcing from other suppliers until the spring, Bry said, and will limit batteries to one per drone until it can obtain more. The company is also extending the software license, warranty and support terms “for all drones fulfilled with less than a full complement of batteries by the length of time it takes us to deliver all batteries in the kit.”

The sanctions make “clear that the Chinese government will use supply chains as a weapon to advance their interests over ours,” Bry said, adding that Skydio will “come out of this stronger than ever.

“As we develop the supply of batteries outside of China, we will share our work with our Western peers to help the world move on from this dangerous dependency.”