The Drive to Limit Use of Chinese UAVs and Parts Enters New Critical Phase

Forces continue to gather to put more pressure on buyers of aerial drones to quickly find alternatives to Chinese-made unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and components.

Be it legislation, calls for better solutions, or lists of approved vendors, the flight from such Chinese vendors as DJI and T Motors is gaining steam.

For example, the state government of North Dakota is putting its money where its intent is on drones. With some 90 percent of drones used by state agencies coming from China, a legislator – with the backing of the governor – is proposing spending $15 million to replace these drones.

And there are now a variety of lists that tout the UAV vendors that provide non-China made drone alternatives. The US Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), for example, developed the Blue UAS Cleared List earlier this year. DIU aims to strengthen US national security by accelerating the adoption of US-centric commercial technology throughout the US military.

Approved lists for state agency buyers

In other UAV procurement lists news, Florida’s state government now requires its agencies to only purchase drones from an approved list of manufacturers based on recommendations from the state’s Department of Management Services.

Of course, the drive to find alternatives to Chinese drones and parts is a global undertaking. For example, the Ministry of Strategic Industries of Ukraine last month showcased the UAV capabilities of several of its own domestic manufacturers. The appeal was designed to help grease the skids toward the exclusive use of non-Chinese UAV vendors there.

Both public and private concerns are working to find counterparts to Chinese drone vendors and components suppliers. The Drone Advocacy Alliance, for example, is a non-partisan, drone-agnostic grassroots advocacy coalition formed to ensure that drone users are able to weigh in on government policies on UAV market accessibility and options. By working with industry stakeholders and legislators, the alliance expects to quickly create an open and accessible U.S. drone marketplace.

US warned of need for speed

These efforts to wean the world off Chinese drones follows moves by the US government in recent years to bring the risks to the attention of the American public and OEMs. Finding new acceptable sources for low-risk UAV supply chain resiliency by US makers of uncrewed vehicles is sure to be an increasingly demanding — and necessary — undertaking.

Indeed, the US Congress is continuing its efforts this week with a new legislative proposal to outright ban new drone sales in the US from two Chinese manufacturers: DJI and Autel Robotics.

And the time is nigh to sort this out, as China is fighting back before the market can mature to a level of more choices. Manufacturers in China ominously recently began slashing sales of essential UAV components to the US and Europe. For example, Chinese makers of motors, batteries, and flight controllers have apparently limited or stopped their deliveries to certain regions, Bloomberg reported this week.

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