Washington farmers, first responders worry over looming ban on Chinese drones

SEATTLE — A bipartisan bill passed by the House of Representatives could have far-reaching implications that impact public safety and small businesses that rely on the evolving technology.

Drones serve many purposes. The same drone a farmer uses to monitor his cattle can be used by law enforcement to secure a crime scene.

DJI drones are the reason for that accessibility.

The Chinese-manufactured unmanned aircraft has cornered the market on commercial drones in the United States. King County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jason Stanley said that’s because the drones offer a cheaper price with some of the best technology available.

“From our perspective, they are a superior product to anything else that’s out there that’s even semi-affordable,” said Stanley, the county’s air support and drone program supervisor.

The proposed legislation targets DJI specifically over national security concerns.

“The Chinese Communist Party is working to undermine American sovereignty by forcing Americans to rely and depend on unsecure communist technology,” Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) said on the house floor in September. “Nowhere is this more evident than in the drone industry.”

The Countering CCP Drones Act calls for a ban on new DJI drones. Stefanik argued the U.S. needs to stop China’s “monopolistic control over the drone market”.

However, these are the same drones regularly used by local government agencies for inspecting infrastructure and surveying storm damage. Stanley said the use of drones has significantly changed policing. It replaces the need for a first responder to physically enter a dangerous situation.

A study shows as of 2020, DJI accounts for about 90% of drones used by public safety agencies in the U.S.

Security Concerns vs. Practical Impact

The DJI drones are accessible, but the question remains: At what cost? 

Cybersecurity expert Erik Moore said there’s good reason for Congress to consider banning new DJI drones.

“Chinese political parties really do have their control over Chinese corporations,” said Moore, a cybersecurity leadership professor at Seattle University.

DJI claimed it is unfairly singled out because it is neither owned nor controlled by the Chinese military.

However, U.S. lawmakers fear espionage. They worry the company’s mass collection of data could be used to help Chinese surveillance efforts.

“It is true that DJI has significant security,” Moore said. “At the same time, they do have control over the device, and there is the potential for backchannels as the chips on the device could be rewritten for other purposes.”

The ban aims to boost reliance on U.S. drone manufacturers, including several in Western Washington. However, higher manufacturing costs make it difficult for American companies to compete with DJI’s pricing.

“I wasn’t looking to go spend 20,000 or more on a drone system,” said Scott Luckie, a farmer for Luckie Farms in Lake Stevens. “For a couple hundred bucks I had something that worked really, really well.”

Luckie Farms relies on these affordable drones for daily operations.

“Time is money,” Luckie said. “If you take away the technology that they’re just starting to get into use, the profit margin is going to shrink again.”

His farm uses drones to count cattle, check fence lines, and monitor floodgates.

Many in the agricultural industry rely on drones to spray crops with chemicals or seeds with precision.

The King County Sheriff’s Office, which has received $600,000 in grants to fund its drone program, estimates switching to American-made drones would increase costs by up to 50%. Ultimately those costs would fall on taxpayers.

“If the abilities and capabilities of the drones take four or five steps backwards and the price goes up, that’s terrible for the American people, let alone our local community members here,” Stanley said.

Congress recently passed a defense bill giving DJI one year to prove their drones don’t pose a national security risk before facing a potential ban.

The defense bill that passed last week would ban new Chinese drones from DJI and Autel Robotics should a review find them to pose an “unacceptable” risk to U.S. national security.

“There’s not a government user that doesn’t welcome a blossoming of technology in the United States,” Stanley said. “We would love that. But so far we aren’t there.”

Moore believes U.S. companies will become more competitive if Chinese drones are banned. He predicts that robotics in the next 10 years will be as transformational if not more than smartphones were in the last couple of decades.

“We want to make sure especially that the U.S. interests’ innovation and security is a big part of how we guide that forward,” Moore said.

For now, local agencies and businesses are watching closely as this technology debate unfolds.