Feds Say Foreign Drones Are a Security Risk, Want US-Made Fleet

Citing national security, the US Department of the Interior today announced plans to one day replace its fleet of Chinese-made drones with American-made ones.

Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt signed an order that calls for the US "domestic production capability" to build small unmanned aerial systems (UAS).

"The goal is to have a competitive industry here that we can fly American drones at some point," a senior Interior official told journalists.

Today's order also formally grounds the department's drone fleet until the agency can review the technology for cybersecurity threats.

The department initially grounded the fleet over spying fears back in October, at which point 786 of its 810 drones were Chinese-made.

The remaining 24 were built in the US, but nevertheless contained Chinese-made components.

Although today's order doesn't call out China by name, it points to the potential spying danger of relying on foreign-made technology when the department's drones are being used to survey US lands and conduct research.

"In certain circumstances, information collected during UAS missions has the potential to be valuable to foreign entities, organizations, and governments," the order says.

But the department doesn't expect an American-made small drones industry to emerge overnight, the senior Interior official said.

Instead, the immediate goal is to work with US intelligence agencies to examine the existing drone fleet for security vulnerabilities, and then focus on sourcing the technology from reliable manufacturers.

The news doesn't bode well for DJI, a leading drone maker based in China that's been denying claims it poses a spying threat.

The Department of the Interior has bought 121 drones from the Chinese vendor.

Today's order only allows the department to fly the drones for emergency purposes, such as battling wildfires or to monitor flooding.

Last year, the department recorded more than 10,000 drone flights, about 30 to 40 percent of which were focused on training missions.

The training will continue.

But since late October, the department has flown the drones in only 12 emergency-related flights.

In response to today's news, DJI accused the department of making a politically motivated decision over legitimate security concerns.

The Chinese vendor also claimed its technology has been tested and validated by cybersecurity experts.

"We are opposed to the politically motivated country of origin restrictions masquerading as cybersecurity concerns and call for policymakers and industry stakeholders to create clear standards that will give commercial and government drone operators the assurance they need to confidently evaluate drone technology on the merits of performance, security and reliability, no matter where it is made," DJI said in a statement.

Citing national security, the US Department of the Interior today announced plans to one day replace its fleet of Chinese-made drones with American-made ones.

Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt signed an order that calls for the US "domestic production capability" to build small unmanned aerial systems (UAS).

"The goal is to have a competitive industry here that we can fly American drones at some point," a senior Interior official told journalists.

Today's order also formally grounds the department's drone fleet until the agency can review the technology for cybersecurity threats.

The department initially grounded the fleet over spying fears back in October, at which point 786 of its 810 drones were Chinese-made.

The remaining 24 were built in the US, but nevertheless contained Chinese-made components.

Although today's order doesn't call out China by name, it points to the potential spying danger of relying on foreign-made technology when the department's drones are being used to survey US lands and conduct research.

"In certain circumstances, information collected during UAS missions has the potential to be valuable to foreign entities, organizations, and governments," the order says.

But the department doesn't expect an American-made small drones industry to emerge overnight, the senior Interior official said.

Instead, the immediate goal is to work with US intelligence agencies to examine the existing drone fleet for security vulnerabilities, and then focus on sourcing the technology from reliable manufacturers.

The news doesn't bode well for DJI, a leading drone maker based in China that's been denying claims it poses a spying threat.

The Department of the Interior has bought 121 drones from the Chinese vendor.

Today's order only allows the department to fly the drones for emergency purposes, such as battling wildfires or to monitor flooding.

Last year, the department recorded more than 10,000 drone flights, about 30 to 40 percent of which were focused on training missions.

The training will continue.

But since late October, the department has flown the drones in only 12 emergency-related flights.

In response to today's news, DJI accused the department of making a politically motivated decision over legitimate security concerns.

The Chinese vendor also claimed its technology has been tested and validated by cybersecurity experts.

"We are opposed to the politically motivated country of origin restrictions masquerading as cybersecurity concerns and call for policymakers and industry stakeholders to create clear standards that will give commercial and government drone operators the assurance they need to confidently evaluate drone technology on the merits of performance, security and reliability, no matter where it is made," DJI said in a statement.