Chinese drone manufacturer Shenzhen DJI Innovation Technology Co., Ltd., known by consumers as DJI, recently sued the US Department of Defense over its 2022 designation as a Military Company Operating in the United States.
In 2021, DoD added DJI to a list of commercial off-the-shelf drones which could not be procured or used by the military due to concerns over back doors in hardware and software. Interestingly, DoD has asserted that DJI is complicit in Chinese government surveillance programs, including biometric tracking of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang.
DJI is by far the most popular commercial drone in the US. Some in Congress want to go further and completely ban DJI drones from use in U.S. airspace. Most recently the House Select Committee on China urged the Commerce Department to investigate DJI for allegedly attempting to circumvent U.S. trade restrictions using front companies.
If you follow my writing elsewhere, you’re going to hear this from me a lot: The attritable drone is the 155 shell of the future. That’s the elevator pitch. For those unfamiliar with the term, “attritable” means that they’ll be consumed or destroyed during use; possibly during their first flight.
Ukraine uses 10,000 to 30,000 drones per month in its war with Russia. As I’m sure you’re familiar, many of your customers watch what is happening in Ukraine and want to learn more about emerging capabilities like drones, precision target engagement, novel communications, and ditch medicine. Some will go so far as to acquire the means to train in these new skills. While basic pistol and carbine classes are still going strong, interest in more advanced courses has waned as many take to long-range rifle training, communications courses, and online training in drone use. In many ways, Ukraine is a view of the future. This is particularly true for drones, which have allowed Ukraine to keep a much larger adversary off balance.
In 2019, the President signed the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act into law, which led the military to ban the use of drones from the CRINK countries (China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea) due to security concerns. The recent pager and cell phone attacks by Israel against its enemies demonstrates how important it is to have confidence in the fidelity of our systems.
This move is referred to as the Blue UAS program. The military terminology for handheld drones is “small unmanned aerial system (sUAS).” In order to be accepted for use, they have to meet several standards, including cybersecurity, video transmission encryption, and so on. Additionally, components must come from a country approved by DoD. Like complete drone systems, even the components can’t come from a CRINK country. Basically, we don’t want our drones turning on us.
When these standards are met, the drone type is placed on the Blue UAS Cleared List and granted an Authority to Operate by the Defense Innovation Unit, who manages the program. DIU also works with industry to identify and procure traditional warfighting technologies directly from industry, like attritable drones.
Because of the extra requirements for small military drones, they are much more expensive than their commercial counterparts made in China. The goal is to bring the cost down significantly by investing in a domestic industrial base to build thousands of drones per month. Earlier I mentioned the 155mm artillery shell, and the goal is to get the cost down around that level.
Short of active war, the U.S. military isn’t going to use drones up at the pace we are seeing in Ukraine and elsewhere. Consequently, manufacturers are considering dual-use drones, which can be sold to consumers as well as to the government, as more agencies begin to consider the security of their systems, including drones.
The biggest challenge is in the components. Having a U.S. source of supply, or one from a friendly country, means that drone users won’t be at risk that one day their drones won’t work, or worse yet, turn on them. It also means that we’ll be able to manufacture drones in times of international tension when trade is restricted.
As with many innovations that begin on the battlefield, so it goes with small drones. We keep a keen eye on Ukraine, where innovators are using 3D printing or additive manufacturing to craft mechanisms to deliver food, medicines and radios to isolated outposts or create delivery systems that mate legacy munitions and explosives to the drones for aerial bombardment of trenches. They are inspiring others to create low-cost and low-risk delivery methods. Drones can go places where you don’t want to place a human at risk of harm.
One place where drones are seeing extensive use by firearms owners is on the range. They can hover above the danger zone and give a bird’s-eye view of the area, including shooters, targets, and anyone in and around the range. Safety and feedback are drastically increased.
Other great civilian uses have been demonstrated during the recovery from Hurricane Helene, where drones delivered supplies to those stranded and conducted surveys of damaged areas.
Unmanned drones are a growing market and will become even more popular as they take on new roles. The Blue UAS initiative will incentivize industry to invest in a domestic manufacturing base for continued development and supply.
