American drone makers are buying far more parts from Taiwan, a win for Taiwanese manufacturers but still far from the scale either side wants.

• Shield AI's Taiwanese content jumped from under 1% of its aircraft parts in 2024 to 16%, and may hit 25% soon.
• AeroVironment has bought over $20 million in panels, sensors and batteries from Taiwan in three years and wants to build systems there too.
• Taiwan is moving up the chain — from selling parts to helping design and assemble whole autonomous systems.
• The hard part is cutting China out: batteries, magnets and rare earths need mining and refining capacity that barely exists elsewhere.
• Neither side can build drones in the millions yet, and companies say they need governments to commit to years of orders first.

Outlook: Expect more U.S.-Taiwan drone tie-ups, but real mass production waits on firm government purchase commitments.