Ban on Chinese Drones

Yesterday, U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Rick Scott (R-FL), and Tom Cotton (R-AR) took another shot at Chinese-made drone tech and the world’s largest drone manufacturer, DJI, while Congress member Elise Stefanik (R-NY) introduced parallel legislation (read text of proposal at link) in the House of Representatives.  The Senators introduced the …

The Endless Frontier Act is a new proposal designed to support a stronger U.S. technology base: a move that could be a more concrete play in ongoing U.S.- China trade tensions. Technology – The Final Frontier By: Dawn M.K. Zoldi, Guest Contributor  They say offense is the best defense. For …

The American Drone Security Act: The Sequel The original American Drone Security Act (ADSA) proposal has had a significant impact on the drone industry, even though it was not passed.  The ADSA has now been reintroduced, however – with some changes.  Guest Contributor Dawn Zoldi, drone law expert and CEO of …

The U.S. – China tech war has had major implications for the commercial drone industry.  Now, AirForce veteran and aerospace attorney Dawn Zoldi of P3 Tech Consulting explains the impact of the latest development, an Executive Order signed on January 5, 2021. Written by Dawn M.K. Zoldi, Guest Contributor*  Additional …

Congressmen in the U.S. have rejected a House version of the National Defense Authorization Act which would ban the purchase of Chinese drone tech by U.S. federal agencies or with federal funding. Manufacturers, government agencies, and public safety agencies that utilize public funding have been awaiting the outcome of negotiations …

On the heels of recent U.S. government efforts to ban Chinese drones for official use, Japan this week announced a similar plan. According to a Reuters report, several government insiders say the initiative would shut out China from selling any drones to Japanese agencies in an effort “to protect sensitive …

The U.S. Department of Justice has made the ban official: no agency may use federal funds for DJI drones or any unmanned aircraft manufactured by a “Covered Foreign Entity: … any entity that is determined or designated, within the Department of Justice, to be subject to or vulnerable to extrajudicial …

Today, the world’s largest drone manufacturer, DJI responds to Department of the Interior memo recommending that department heads purchase U.S.-manufactured drones from the “Blue sUAS” list. The Department of Interior (DOI) has a long history with DJI, who worked with them closely on building their initial fleet.  As the department …

After the fleet of U.S. Department of Interior drones was downed earlier this year in response to concerns about Chinese-manufactured drone platforms, the DOI has not flown except for emergency response.  (See our 2 part coverage of the U.S. ban on Chinese drones, here and here.)   As the party …

image: public domain, PXfuel In the final keynote address of DJI Airworks 2020, DJI’s VP of Policy and Legal Affairs Brendan Schulman spoke about the direction U.S. government drone regulation is taking – and spoke out against fear-based policies. U.S. government drone regulation has increasingly focused on security, with drones …