Shield AI co-founder says Taiwan has grown stronger but must be ready to fight through jammed communications

As Taiwan accelerates its drone ambitions amid mounting pressure from China, Shield AI co-founder Brandon Tseng argues that the island’s deterrence has measurably improved — yet warns that future warfare in the Taiwan Strait will hinge on whether Taiwan can operate when GPS and communications systems are crippled.

In the latest episode of Taiwan Frontlines, launched by Taiwan Current News (TCN) in partnership with the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF), Tseng sat down with Bonnie Glaser and Jason Hsu (許毓仁) to discuss how Shield AI could contribute to Taiwan's security in a potential military conflict with China.

Taiwan’s growing resolve

Taiwan has become one of the most consequential arenas in the global race to develop autonomous warfare capabilities, according to Tseng, a former US Navy SEAL as well as the co-founder and president of Shield AI, a California-based aerospace and defense technology company.

Tseng said Taiwan has made “major efforts” over the past several years to strengthen its defenses against a potential Chinese invasion.

To illustrate his point, Tseng pointed not only to military modernization but also to growing civilian awareness around resilience and preparedness.

“I think it’s stronger,” Tseng said when asked whether deterrence in the Taiwan Strait is more robust today than it was five years ago.

Tseng, who visited Taiwan in February and met with senior military officials including Admiral Mei Chia-shu (梅家樹), chairman of Taiwan’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he observed a marked shift in seriousness across Taiwan’s armed forces and society.

“You can see they’re taking the problem very seriously,” he said. “You can see the will to build out the capabilities to deter.”

That evolving posture comes as Taiwan’s Lai administration pushes forward with plans to expand the island's indigenous drone ecosystem, including a reported goal of producing 40,000 domestically manufactured drones.

The real battlefield: electronic warfare

Tseng repeatedly emphasized that the defining lesson from the war in Ukraine is not merely the importance of drones, but the necessity of operating in an environment where communications and satellite navigation systems are under relentless attack.

"The very first thing China’s going to do is jam GPS," Tseng warned. “They’re going to jam communication systems.”

Modern militaries remain dangerously dependent on technologies vulnerable to electronic warfare, Tseng said. Once communications collapse, not only drones but entire command structures and battlefield coordination mechanisms can begin to unravel, he said.

He urged Taiwan and its military leaders to rigorously scrutinize any weapons systems the island acquires, ensuring they remain functional in GPS-denied and communications-jammed conditions.

“Before you buy any weapon systems, before you buy drone systems, make sure they are working in that environment,” he said, adding that Ukraine’s battlefield experience offers valuable lessons.

Tseng acknowledged that Taiwan has taken the issue seriously, but cautioned that globally, relatively few systems are genuinely capable of functioning under such conditions.

Shield AI: building autonomous systems for a contested strait

Founded with the mission of protecting service members and civilians through intelligent autonomous systems, Shield AI develops AI-powered pilots and unmanned aircraft capable of operating without continuous human control.

Tseng described the company’s “AI pilot” as analogous to self-driving technology for unmanned systems. In a military setting, it enables autonomous mission execution even when GPS and communications are disrupted.

The software has already been integrated into 26 platforms, including Anduril’s Fury Collaborative Combat Aircraft for the US Air Force, Tseng said.

Tseng added that Shield AI is also working with Taiwan’s National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) — Taiwan's premier research and development institution focused on defense technology, weapons systems, and dual-use technologies — to help localize AI pilot capabilities so Taiwan does not remain wholly reliant on US defense firms.

As for the company’s aircraft, Tseng said that Shield AI’s V-BAT reconnaissance drone has carried out missions in Ukraine under heavily jammed conditions and assisted the US Coast Guard in intercepting 100,000 pounds of narcotics in 2025. It also conducts highly secretive missions in the Middle East, he said.

Beyond tactical drones

Tseng also cautioned Taiwan against focusing too narrowly on small tactical drones alone.

Drawing comparisons with Ukraine, he argued that while inexpensive quadcopters and one-way attack drones have proven highly effective in slowing Russian advances, Taiwan must also develop deeper-strike and strategic autonomous capabilities.

“You still have to have that spectrum,” he said. “You need those strategic-level assets, the ability to operate while GPS communications are jammed, the ability to affect mainland China should something occur.”

Such systems, he stressed, are ultimately intended not for escalation but deterrence — convincing Beijing that the costs of aggression would be prohibitively high.

For more in-depth coverage, tune in to Taiwan Frontlines on the NOWNEWS official YouTube channel.