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Source: Global Times

[Global Times Special Correspondent Ren Zhong] On the 14th, many foreign media found that the revised version of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act recently released by the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee is different from the version passed by the House of Representatives last month. The Senate Committee's bill does not include clauses restricting the sale of drones by Chinese drone manufacturer DJI in the United States. The Pakistan Defense Forum website stated that DJI is the leader in the U.S. agricultural drone market, which may be the reason why the Senate did not include the ban. Earlier, Japan's Nikkei Asian Review reported that Chinese-made drones are so popular with U.S. police that it is difficult to find alternatives.

According to US media reports, last month, the US House of Representatives passed the National Defense Authorization Act. The bill caused a stir because it included the Countering Chinese Drones Act, which added DJI's equipment and services to the so-called "covered list", preventing DJI's new equipment from obtaining a license from the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and potentially leading to the revocation of its existing FCC authorization.

The U.S. government's "hunt down" on Chinese drones began as early as 2016, when some U.S. lawmakers proposed restrictions on DJI on the grounds of "cyber data security." In 2017, the U.S. Department of Defense included DJI on the sanctions list, saying that DJI drones "are likely to provide critical U.S. infrastructure and law enforcement data to the Chinese government." In May 2019, the U.S. government once again banned U.S. federal agencies from purchasing drones manufactured in countries identified as "security threats" and banned the use of federal funds to purchase DJI drones. In 2020, the U.S. Department of Commerce again included DJI on the "Entity List" on the grounds of "endangering U.S. national security," making it impossible for DJI to obtain technology and products provided by the United States and U.S. companies.

DJI has repeatedly denied and opposed these accusations and sanctions.

Contrary to the political phenomenon of serial "hunts and suppressions", the demand for Chinese-made drones in many industries in the United States remains strong. Recently, representatives of more than 6,000 public safety agencies, police and fire departments with drone projects in the United States wrote to members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, opposing the inclusion of the "Countering China's Drones Act" in the "National Defense Authorization Act". The New York Times said that drones produced by DJI often appear in rescue operations and exercises, and some volunteer rescuers said that this can help speed up rescue operations. The U.S. "Drone Life" website said that data from the Federal Aviation Administration showed that as of March this year, there were 966 drones registered with the state police and sheriff's departments in Texas, of which 879 were produced by DJI. Of the 87 drones not produced by DJI, 56 were also produced by Chinese companies or companies associated with China.

According to the Pakistan Defense Forum website, 80% of the drones used by American farmers are DJI drones. According to the US distributor of DJI equipment, American farmers have been steadily increasing their use of drone spraying in recent years. In 2023, drones sprayed 3.7 million acres (about 1.49 million hectares) of land in 41 states, covering 50 crops, most of which were made in China. In a statement sent to the US "AgFunder" news network last month, DJI Technology said, "We do not have specific market share figures to provide, but roughly estimated that about 4 out of every 5 agricultural drones used by American farmers are DJI models."

According to the U.S. news website AgFunder, Adam Welsh, head of global policy at DJI, warned that if the government eventually passes a ban, it would not only hurt DJI, but also many different verticals in the United States, including agriculture. When asked why DJI was being "hunted down," Welsh replied that "this gets to the heart of the matter." He said that at first it was about data security, and then the debate shifted to dominant market share and whether small American manufacturers could compete on price or quality. "If another Chinese company reaches the scale of DJI, they will also be a target."

DroneDJ, a drone information website, said that the U.S. Senate's decision to exclude the ban from its version of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act reflects their more cautious approach to the issue. However, the report said that the future of DJI drones in the United States remains uncertain, because if the current version of the bill is passed by the U.S. Senate, the Senate and the House of Representatives will have to coordinate on it, and this process is likely to result in the ban being "passed". "The drone industry is watching these developments closely, and many companies are preparing for various scenarios."