Skydio faces battery rationing after China sanctions; CEO warns of challenges and accuses Beijing of using supplies as a weapon
A Skydiothe largest American drone maker, said Wednesday that it is being forced to ration batteries for its customers due to supply constraints caused by Chinese government sanctions — which the company described as an effort to “eliminate” them and increase productivity. global dependence on drones manufactured in China.
In a blog post, the CEO da Skydio, Adam Brymentioned that the company’s “battery supply will be reduced for the next few months” as a result of the sanctions, as batteries were “one of the few components” the company was still purchasing from China.
To deal with the supply chain problem, Bry stated that the Skydio will have to take the “drastic step of rationing batteries to one per drone” and, to compensate, the company will offer support and warranties for drones delivered “with less than a full complement of batteries.”
Bry declared that the China sanctioned his company for selling drones to Taiwan — noting that the Taiwan National Fire Agency is its only client in the country —, but highlighted that the Skydio was “proud to support critical infrastructure operators, first responders and allied military personnel.”
The blog post harshly criticized the Chinese government, stating that the sanctions show that the Chinese government “will use supply chains as a weapon to advance its interests over ours.”
Bry also accused the Chinese government of trying to “eliminate the leading American drone company” and increasing “the world’s dependence on Chinese drone suppliers.”
A Skydio was one of three American companies sanctioned by the China earlier this month, together with military shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries and military drone manufacturer Edge Autonomy Operations.
When announcing the sanctions, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs mentioned the announcement by the government of USA of “substantial military assistance” to Taiwan — that to China claims to be part of its territory.
The announcement stated that “movable and immovable properties and other types of assets within the China of companies will be frozen” as a result of the sanctions. The name of Bry was also included on a list of 10 sanctioned “senior executives,” along with the general manager of Skydio Asia Pacific, Tom Moss.
According to the Financial Timesthe customer list of Skydio includes the Ukrainian military, and the company has sent more than 1,000 of its drones to Ukraine to help gather intelligence in their ongoing war with the Russia and record cases of war crimes by the Russian military.
O drone X10 da Skydio — which is affected by battery rationing — is reportedly difficult to block, and the Ukraine tried to acquire thousands of them.
The largest drone manufacturer in the world, DJItook legal action against the US Department of Defense earlier this month after being designated as a “Chinese military company.” In its lawsuit, the DJI argued that it is “neither owned nor controlled by the Chinese military” and that the action of Pentagon is “illegal and mistaken”.
A DJI stated that the listing led to the loss of business and caused it to be “stigmatized as a threat to national security”.
It is unclear whether the inclusion of the Shenzhen blacklisted by Pentagon is linked to the sanctions of the China against a Skydio.
With information from Forbes*
Source: https://www.ocafezinho.com/2024/11/04/fabricante-americano-de-drones-critica-governo-chines-apos-ser-sancionado/
