DJI is officially registered by the United States Department of Defense by classifying it as a “Chinese military company.”
The Ministry of Defense has released a list of companies that have been determined to be a national security risk due to their relationship with the Chinese government, which includes DJI.
“The department is determined to highlight and counter the PRC’s Combined Military-Civil strategy, which supports the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) modernization goals by ensuring its access to advanced technology and expertise acquired and developed by PRC companies, universities, and research programs that appear to be civilian entities. ,” the Department of Defense wrote in the announcement.
“Section 1260H directs the Department to begin identifying, among other things, contributors to Military-Civil Fusion that operate directly or indirectly in the United States.”
Section 1260H of the National Defense Authorization Act was passed in 2021 and expands and modernizes the Department of Defense’s reporting requirements on “Chinese Communist Party military enterprises operating in the United States.” The amendment requires that the secretary of defense publish and update the list annually.
DJI published a response to its content on a list of those challenging its content.
“DJI stands alone as the only drone company that has clearly denounced and actively discouraged the military use of our products, including suspending all business operations in Russia and Ukraine to try to keep our drones out of conflict there. There is no reason why DJI has been added to the the Department of Defense list of ‘Chinese military companies,'” the company said.
‘DJI is not in the category set by law to be included in the list. DJI is not a military company in China, the United States or anywhere else. DJI has never designed or manufactured military-grade equipment, and has never marketed or sold its products for military use in any country. Instead, we have developed products to benefit society and save lives.
That inclusion is the latest example of DJI’s struggles when it comes to the United States Government. In 2020, this company was added to the “Economic Blacklist” which prevents it from doing business with companies based in the US. In 2021, top officials of the Federal Communications Commission called for the addition of DJI to the FCC’s Covered List, which would prevent it from selling its products in the United States. Last year, DJI, along with seven other Chinese companies, was added to the US Treasury’s list of “Chinese military-industrial complex companies.”
As DroneDJ explains, despite these ongoing bans and blacklists, officials at the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI admit their staff still use DJI drones. As such, it is unclear what consequences the company will face after being added to this list.
Image credit: Header photo by Ryan Mense for PetaPixel
