In the crosshairs: Chinese drones a target for US ban as security risk
- Shenzhen-based DJI, the global leader in drone technology, is confronted with several US efforts to prohibit the sale and use of its products
- In recent months, US lawmakers have introduced two dozen drone-related bills, many aimed at restricting Chinese drones and building up US industry
In February, police in Fremont, California, used a DJI Technology drone equipped with a thermal imaging camera to locate an emotionally troubled boy who had gone missing at night. After running away from school, the deaf teenager hid in a field where the drone found him, and helped return him to safety.
DJI, the drone manufacturer based in the south China city of Shenzhen, hopes stories like this one will blunt mounting suspicions, increasingly restrictive regulations and other collateral damage from the deteriorating US-China relationship that is threatening its business.
But increased turbulence for the world’s largest maker of commercial small drones seems inevitable. Sharing headlines with the heartwarming tales are cases of DJI drones involved in terrorism incidents, crashes on the White House grounds and prison drug deliveries.
And Washington, after long dismissing small drones as mere playthings and finding itself miles behind in an increasingly strategic industry, is marshalling protectionist legislation, subsidies and patriotic appeals hoping to make up for lost time.
“The global market was asleep at the wheel. The Chinese started out building these as toys,” said Christopher Williams, chief executive with San Diego-based Citadel Defence, which sells counter-drone technology to safeguard sensitive sites.
“The US is only just picking up on it.”