US Interior Department grounds Chinese-made drones over security concerns
- Fleet of 800 devices to temporarily cease operations, but can still be used for emergency purposes
- Interior Secretary David Bernhardt in October ordered a halt to purchases of Chinese-made drones
The US Interior Department is grounding its fleet of about 800 Chinese-made drones but will allow their use for emergency situations, the department said on Wednesday.
US Interior Secretary David Bernhardt issued an order affirming a temporary cessation of non-emergency operations adopted in October as it ensures “cybersecurity, technology and domestic production concerns are adequately addressed”, the department said.
The order allows for approved situations for emergency purposes, such as fighting wildfires, search and rescue, and dealing with natural disasters that may threaten life or property. It also allows for training operations.
Bernhardt in October also ordered a halt to additional Interior department purchases of Chinese-made drones.
China’s SZ DJI Technology, the world’s largest maker of consumer drones, said in a statement on Wednesday it is “extremely disappointed” in the Interior order that “inappropriately treats a technology’s country of origin as a litmus test for its performance, security and reliability”.
The company added that the concerns have “little to do with security and are instead part of a politically-motivated agenda to reduce market competition and support domestically produced drone technology, regardless of its merits”.
