Spain’s military uses DJI agricultural drones to spray disinfectant in fight against Covid-19

Spain is the first European country to use agricultural drones for containing pandemics, according to drone maker DJI
DJI’s drones, which have come under mounting suspicions from US officials, have been used in China and other countries to combat the public health crisis

DJI

Che Panin Beijing

Published: 5:30pm, 1 Apr, 2020

Why you can trust SCMP

The military of Spain, one of the countries most badly hit by the coronavirus outbreak globally, is deploying agricultural drones, including a model by China’s biggest drone maker DJI, in its fight against Covid-19.

DJI’s local agent in Spain, Stock RC, is assisting the Spanish Military Emergency Unit (UME) in the latter’s community disinfection operations, DJI wrote in a post on its official WeChat account on Tuesday.

“Spain has become the first European country to use agricultural drones for containing [pandemics],” the Shenzhen-based company added in the post.

DJI’s AGRAS MG-1 drone was one of two models the UME’s communications battalion successfully trialed for disinfecting operations last week. Photo: Handout

DJI’s AGRAS MG-1 drone was one of two models the UME’s communications battalion successfully trialed for disinfecting large areas outdoors as well as inside big objects such as vehicles, according to a post on UME’s website last week. The other model was the DRONEHEXA XL by Spanish drone maker DroneTools.

The use of DJI’s drones in the global battle against the coronavirus pandemic could help bolster the image of the Chinese drone company, which has seen its business threatened by concerns raised by the US over the collection and security of consumer data amid a tense US-China tech war.

How Chinese drone maker DJI is battling US turbulence

The Trump administration, which has voiced concerns that DJI’s drones could be sending sensitive surveillance data back to China, has introduced more than 20 drone-related bills in recent months, many aimed at regulating or restricting Chinese-made machines and building up US competitors.

DJI’s drones – which account for 75 per cent of the global market – have been banned by the US military since 2017 and the US Interior Department more recently grounded its fleet of about 800 Chinese-made drones for all but emergency purposes.

But in the face of a severe public health crisis, drones have proven valuable with their ability to enter badly affected areas and automatically spray disinfectant, reducing the risk of emergency personnel being infected by the pathogen.

Aside from Spain and China – where drones have been used extensively during the pandemic to spray disinfectant, check temperatures and disperse public gatherings – DJI drones have been used to combat the virus in countries including Chile, Indonesia, Philippines, Colombia and the United Arab Emirates.

Last week, DJI’s main rival, Chinese agricultural drone maker XAG, was also identified in a university research study as one of the most suitable drone suppliers to carry out community disinfection operations in the UK.

Sign up now and get a 10% discount (original price US$400) off the China AI Report 2020 by SCMP Research. Learn about the AI ambitions of Alibaba, Baidu & JD.com through our in-depth case studies, and explore new applications of AI across industries. The report also includes exclusive access to webinars to interact with C-level executives from leading China AI companies (via live Q&A sessions). Offer valid until 31 May 2020.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Spain’s military deploys DJI drones to fight virus

Post