There is a wee bit of misinformation flying around the internet at present. Well, yes, I know, there always is, but this relates specifically to DJI and its drones.
For some months we had known that the United States of Americaland Gummint was mulling whether to get the company banned from selling said drones inside Uncle Sam. It’s Chinese y’know, and therefore BAD. They could be used to listen in and send stuff back to Beijing. Ooh ‘er…
Apparently.
The Pentagon
Anyway, over the last few days, DJI appealed a Pentagon ruling and well, it lost its challenge. The Pentagon, which of course is run by that well known military strategist and JD (no not the Vance type) fan, Pete Hegseth, had labelled it a “Chinese military company”.
Hearing the challenge, the US District court for the State of Columbia found that DJI’s drones have “substantial theoretical and actual military application” and that state subsidies linked the company to China’s broader security apparatus.
It did reject claims that DJI was directly controlled by Chinese ministries or the Communist Party though.
Anyway, some folks seem to think this means that in the US you now cannot buy a DJI drone and that dear reader, is not actually the case.
Consumers Not Affected. For Now.
The ruling says that the procurement by US federal offices to buy a DJI drone is forbidden, but there is nothing stopping Joe or Josette Public from doing so. In other words, there is no consumer ban. At this time anyway.
But, in order to keep that situation in place, DJI will have to prove its drones pose no national security risk.
The company, which is estimated to control more than half of the global consumer drone market, said it was disappointed by the decision and is weighing its legal options.
Of course, none of this affects Australia, so feel free to buy and fly to your heart’s content – as long as you stay within CASA rules of course. And if you are not sure about them, I have a nifty little video here explaining them in a nice understandable way.