DJI ‘disappointed to learn’ US Interior Department has grounded all non-essential China-made drones

The federal agency responsible for maintaining America’s vast federal lands, is halting the use of non-essential Chinese-made drones, following pressure from members of the US Congress amid a widening tech stand-off between the world’s two-biggest economies.

In a reversal on Wednesday, the department said in a statement to Bloomberg News that it would stop flying all non-essential Chinese drones pending a review of the program. In a statement on Thursday, DJI said it was “disappointed to learn of this development”.

The Department of Interior had previously resisted making this move in recent months. In July, it announced that it had completed a 15-month review of its drone program. That review recommended strategies for making sure data did not leak, but allowed for the continued use of DJI drones.

The agency said in a statement that “drones manufactured in China or made from Chinese components” would be “grounded” except for “emergency purposes, such as fighting wildfires, search and rescue, and dealing with natural disasters that may threaten life or priority.”

There is Chinese hardware in all of the department’s drones. It did not cite a specific reason for the change.

The move comes amid ongoing trade and tech tensions between China and the US and as members of Congress grow increasingly concerned about American reliance on Chinese technology – whether that means drones made by DJI, or networking equipment made by Chinese network gear giant Huawei Technologies.