Nonetheless, the inclusion of DJI stands as of this writing, and it’s not even the first time in which the U.S Government has targeted the company. So far, no known product the company has produced or known major sales that they have made indicate any military involvement with China’s government or its allies. Instead, we have always developed products to benefit society and save lives.”

DJI has never designed or manufactured military-grade equipment and has never marketed or sold its products for military use in any country. DJI is not a military company in China, the United States, or anywhere else. ‘DJI does not fall under any categories set by the law to be included on the list. There is no reason why DJI has been added to the Defense Department’s list of ‘Chinese military companies,” “DJI stands alone as the only drone company to clearly denounce and actively discourage military use of our products, including suspending all business operations in Russia and Ukraine to try to keep our drones out of the conflict there. The company published a response in which it stated:

This particular section of the National Defense Authorization Act was enacted in 2021 and is set to be reviewed and updated annually for the DoD’s reporting activities about the “Chinese Communist Party military companies operating in the United States.”Īs a Chinese company that makes flying machines (albeit small ones designed for consumer use) DJI is a target that the DoD has deemed plausible under Section 1260H.ĭJI itself has of course aggressively countered the justifications for its inclusion under the law. The DoD further elaborated, “Section 1260H directs the Department to begin identifying, among other things, Military-Civil Fusion contributors operating directly or indirectly in the United States.” The eventual goal is to equip each of the US Army's 7,000 infantry squads with at least one of these drones and control units.DJI, one of the world’s most popular manufacturers of compact photo/video-capable recreational drones is again being targetted by the U.S Department of Defense as a Chinese military company.īecause of this, the drone and action camera maker has been classified as a national security risk and officially blacklisted.Īs the Defense Department announced in a statement, “The Department is determined to highlight and counter the PRC Military-Civil Fusion strategy, which supports the modernization goals of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) by ensuring its access to advanced technologies and expertise are acquired and developed by PRC companies, universities, and research programs that appear to be civilian entities,” The ground control station (GCS) is also small enough to be held in your hand, and communicates with the drone over an encrypted signal.Įffectively, it's a tiny spy drone that soldiers can easily carry with them on foot, and use to monitor their surroundings or scope out a location for a possible ambush. But the main point of them though is that they have cameras built in that can capture HD photos and transmit live video feeds to a base unit. The drones are pretty hardy, able to withstand temperatures between -10 to 43-degrees Celsius and wind up to 20 knots. Despite its size, the drone can fly at a blitzing top speed of 21.48 km/h for up to 25 minutes on a single charge. It's just 6.6-inches across and weighs less than 33 grams, but has a range of just under 2 km. And they've been issued with the new 'Black Hornet Personal Reconnaissance System', that they used for the first time last week in Kandahar, a statement read.ĭeveloped by Oregon-based FLIR Systems, the Black Hornet is an unmanned nano-drone small enough to sit in your open palm. Paratroopers from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, of the 82nd Airborne Division deployed to Afghanistan last month. They wanted to give soldiers new pocket-sized drones to help them recon their surroundings while in war zones. Earlier this year, the US Army was debating a new piece of technology to equip their infantry division with.

Military mini drone with camera