All DJI drones in US Interior Department’s fleet grounded amid review

[Trox]

The announcement from the US Department of the Interior to ground all Chinese-made drones or drones that include Chinese-made parts [in their fleet] is the latest step in what seems to be an ever-escalating trade war between the US and China.

The US Army stopped using DJI drones in 2017, citing the risk of vulnerabilities. In May 2019, the Department of Homeland Security issued a warning to companies that Chinese-made drones might be sending sensitive data back to China or sharing it with third parties. And most recently, bipartisan lawmakers introduced the National Security Drone Act that aims to stop federal funds being used by government agencies to purchase Chinese-made drones, including DJIs.

See Full October 31st, 2019 Article on DroneDJ.

 

[Ansia]

So basically what you are saying is, that the US Interior Department grounded all of it's drones, since all commercial drones in the market contain chinese parts.

 

[Trox]

@Ansia Those were quotes from the article but I'd say the odds are pretty much in favor of that analysis with noted exceptions of course. The Interior Department's "order" does state that drones engaged in non-security missions and uses, such as geological surveys, wildlife monitoring and studies, search and rescue, fire fighting, etc. appear to be exempt....at this time. And as we know, Interior primarily participates in a lot of scientific programs which would not be related to national security threats.

As for myself, the moment I discovered (about the time of the Inspire 1 launch to be exact) that DJI was transmitting drone owner's flight log information back to China without a direct notification and approval authorization of the owner/customer (it was in the fine print embedded in their privacy disclaimers which I DO read) I said I would never purchase any DJI product. My word is good to the day I die!

BTW if you read the "fine print" of Autel Robotics Privacy Disclaimer (and marketing hype) it clearly states that no flight records or information are ever captured or acquired by the company unless the customer engages in the Cloud Sync and then they guarantee that the servers are on USA soil and will never leave the continent, nor will any of that information. And that the flight data can only be accessed by Autel Robotics technicians during an official investigation and analysis used for determining customer drone repairs, bugs, or faults covered under warranty or off warranty repair. And that customer approval must be granted for them to access that flight information and are held to using ONLY the specific flight data associated with achieving their goal to satisfy the customer and the company's repair objective.

And that "company policy" put Autel Robotics at the top of my shopping list. It was just a matter of time to wait out the issues like horizon tilt and Autel developing some competitive features and capabilities to get me to finally plunk down my CC. No Regrets! Autel is more 'american' than many international corporations originating right here in the USA in my mind. Obviously they listen to their American counterparts within the corporate structure and that deserves my respect and loyalty.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

And life goes on and so will DJI but the cost of entry into government contracts just increased considerably. Cheap combined with easy encounters road blocks as well.
Every police department has a fleet of DJI drones. Guess your taxes are going up to help pay for replacements.

 

[Ansia]

You can fly your DJI offline and never log into the web to sync your data. The data doesn't sync automatically like people make you believe. So in the end, it's not that different from Autel.

The Geofencing, although troublesome at times, it's not impending if done correctly. Even if the People's Republic of China has my intended flight data in their system, they don't have access to my photos or videos. In the case of an investigation, that data can be subpoenad and compared to the FAA authorization I took as well

My opinion is, that is simply a move to gain favor with the orange guy in the white house.

 

[macoman]

I am wondering why they don't make drones themselves to use it internally? They have money to send aircraft to space then they have money in abundance to make and develop drones themselves.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

As an example a $1500 DJI drone if the US government went to make one it would cost 20 grand. This is why it does not happen. This is why DJI will win this little pissing match and in the end the US people will pay the price.

 

[Trox]

I read a comment somewhere in an article? that DJI has even proposed to manufacture their drones in the USA to provide a new level of "trust" to the Federal government and agencies. Hmm, who's winning the pissing contest....really?

[Addendum: DJI made $2.7 Billion in revenue in 2017. We are in the end of 2019. Fast forward that to $4 Billion DJI is making a year now. They will NOT sacrifice that prize and will do whatever it takes in this pissing match to keep their revenue and momentum in tact. Money talks, BS walks! as they say.]

 

[macoman]

As an example a $1500 DJI drone if the US government went to make one it would cost 20 grand. This is why it does not happen. This is why DJI will win this little pissing match and in the end the US people will pay the price.

If that is true them it's not bad as the price of sending an aircraft to space which is several hundred of millions of dollars.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

Apples and oranges buddy. One ship to the moon compare to thousands of UAVs in the hands of the police, government and military which are funded much differently

 

[Trox]

Personally I'm just an 'innocent bystander'....my goal is to capitalize on technologies' advancements. So as long as my future continues to hold that potential I'll let the dogs fight over who wants to be alpha as long as I continue to satisfy my own quest.

For the record: NASA continues to delegate Space Travel and Missions to outside parties like SpaceX. Who was the first to land reusable rockets on their landing pads and ocean barges after a mission? No one had been able to do that since Buck Rogers in 1934.

If you want to have affordable programs in any venue of government oversight.....let private industry do it! They are in it for the money and profit margin so their efficiency is 100X better than any government can do.

 

[macoman]

Apples and oranges buddy. One ship to the moon compare to thousands of UAVs in the hands of the police, government and military which are funded much differently

That's the point... if the government can spend hundred of millions in BS space programs... How many law enforcement drones can the government fabricate for their own use?

 

[Ansia]

That's the point... if the government can spend hundred of millions in BS space programs... How many law enforcement drones can the government fabricate for their own use?

Wait... You don't want to be part of the Space Soldier Corp?

On a serious side, space exploration is extremely important. He who controls the skies, controls the flow of information, and information is power in this day and age. This is why super powers like China, Russia, and USA spend trillions in sending stuff out to space.

Truth be told. The government (any government, not just US) wastes a lot of money and resources to achieve a goal. Therefore it is more cost and time efficient to leave private companies to achieve the goal for you.