Police concerned about ban on Chinese-made drones

US-made models lack DJI Technologies’ camera attributes and affordability.

- By BrucE EINHORN AND ALLYSON VERSPRILLE

The Trump administration’s ban on Chinese drone makers could pose a national security threat, some police groups say, as the decision could ground thousands of machines deployed by police and fire departments across the United States.

The Federal Communications Commission banned all drones and parts made in a foreign country this week, as well as all communications and surveillance equipment of Chinese drone manufacturers DJI and Autel Robotics. The president had already signed an executive order in June targeting “foreign control or exploitation” of America’s drone supply chain. That came after Congress mandated a review to determine whether DJI deserves inclusion in a federal register of companies believed to endanger national security.

“People do not realize the security issue with these drones, the amount of information that’s being funneled back to China on a daily basis,” said Mike Nathe, a North Dakota Republican state representative at the forefront of a nationwide campaign sounding alarms about the made-in-China aircraft.

The fight over the security of America’s airspace pits cash-strapped police departments against a growing number of state and federal lawmakers vying to disrupt what they say is Beijing’s deep reach into the USS., a debate that includes fears about the theft of technology and the dominance of space.

Nathe, a retired mortician, sponsored legislation this year to enable North Dakota state agencies to replace more than 300 DJI drones — used to surveil oil fields, nuclear weapons facilities and the border with Canada — with aircraft made in the U.S. or allied nations.

“More states need to do this,” he said.