Palmer Luckey, the founder of Silicon Valley defence software company Anduril Industries, has claimed that the US defence manufacturing supply chain is too reliant on China. These remarks were made during an interview with Bloomberg TV, shortly after US President Donald Trump announced that the US would impose a 100% tariff on Chinese imports. “We have to get off the Chinese supply chain. We need to reindustrialise. We need to have our own rare earth supply and make our own chips and computers. China has a lot of leverage,” Luckey said. He also stressed the need for the US to take measures to reduce China’s influence over crucial sectors. He stated that while Anduril has made progress in decoupling from the country, his primary concern lies with the broader defence industry.“Anduril is not what I’m concerned about,” Luckey added.

Anduril CEO predicts a long-term conflict with China

The recent tariff warnings are the latest development in US-China relations that could affect businesses, Anduril CEO Brian Schimpf told Bloomberg TV. “I think it’s going to be a long-run conflict with China, and that’s just something that we’ve got to be prepared for,” he said.Anduril is one of the most prominent defence tech startups working to modernise the US military with AI and autonomous software for drones, fighter jets, submarines, and other vehicles. The industry’s growth is partly fueled by increasing competition with China.Schimpf expects Anduril to double its revenue this year to over $2 billion and increase production by 400%, with similar growth likely next year, according to co-founder Palmer Luckey.Companies like Anduril and Palantir Technologies have long viewed China as a potential adversary while developing US defence technology. Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar also told Bloomberg TV that tensions between the two countries have been “brewing for the better part of 50 years.”“No country has done more to alleviate poverty in China than America. No country has done more to undermine American prosperity than China,” he noted.