Shenzhen DJI Innovation Technology Co., Ltd., commonly known as DJI, the Chinese drone manufacturer, has launched a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Defense, challenging its designation as a “Chinese military company.”
The lawsuit, filed by the U.S. law firm Paul Weiss in Washington, D.C., accuses the Pentagon, including Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Deputy Secretary for Industrial Base Policy Laura Taylor-Kale, of refusing to provide any rationale for DJI’s military designation and ignoring repeated requests for dialogue, Politico reported.
The Pentagon originally placed DJI on a list of “Military Companies Operating in the United States” in 2022, citing potential threats to national security.
This move followed the DoD’s 2021 decision to bar government agencies from using DJI products, alleging that the company’s drones could be used for espionage purposes or serve as surveillance tools for the Chinese Communist Party.
Wikipedia.
DJI accounted for over 90% of the world’s consumer drone market as of June 2024.[5] Its camera drone technology is widely used in the music, television, and film industries. The company’s products have also been used by military and police forces,[6] as well as terrorist groups, with the company taking steps to limit access to the latter.[7]
DJI products have drawn concerns over privacy and security. They have been used by combatants from all sides during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[8][9] The company has been sanctioned by the United States government but its drones can still be purchased and operated in the country.[10][11]
Nothing says Made in America more than buying drones from China.
On June 5, 2018, police body cam and Taser maker Axon announced a partnership with DJI to sell surveillance drones to US police departments.[22][23] As of 2020, DJI products were also widely used by US police and fire departments, with about 90% of drones used by public safety agencies coming from DJI.[6][24]
On January 21, 2019, DJI announced that an internal probe had uncovered “extensive” fraud by some employees who “inflated the costs of parts and materials for certain products for personal financial gain.”[25] DJI estimated the cost of the fraud at “up to CN¥1 billion” (US$147 million), but maintained that the company “did not incur a full-year loss in 2018.”[26]
In January 2020, the United States Department of the Interior announced that it would be grounding around 800 drones, which it had been using for wildlife conservation and infrastructure monitoring purposes. By March 2020, DJI had retained 77% of the US market share for consumer drones, with no other company holding more than 4%.[6]
In 2020, DJI drones were being used by many countries around the world to combat the Coronavirus.[27] In China, DJI drones were used by the police force to remind people to wear masks. In other countries, such as Morocco and Saudi Arabia, their drones were used to disinfect urban areas and monitor human temperatures in order to contain the spread of the Coronavirus.[28]