U.S. lawmakers seek less reliance on Chinese drones
Many police agencies and businesses have come to rely on Chinese drones despite national security concerns
By Ezra Bitterman, Staff Writer, Albany, NY Times UnionSeptember 28, 2025
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ALBANY — Two decades ago, drones were put together with superglue and an assortment of foreign-made parts by enthusiasts and hopeful entrepreneurs who believed that the evolving industry could one day flourish.
Over time it did, becoming a critical tool for law enforcement, agriculture, videography, home construction and a host of other sectors. There are more than 1 million registered drones in the U.S., according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Drones can be simple and small, with some fitting in the palm of a hand with a basic carbon fiber body and motor. But they can also stretch 16 feet across with the capability to fly long distances with built-in tracking systems.
Videographers use the onboard cameras to capture fast-moving scenes with no motion blur. Agricultural drones can cheaply map out vast expanses of land with the ability to spray crops.
Builders use drones with 3D imaging capabilities to observe ongoing construction projects. Drones have assisted law enforcement agencies in finding missing people and conducting crime scene investigations. In the military, they represent the cutting edge of advanced warfare as evidenced by Ukraine's commitment to build 4.5 million of the aerial devices this year.
“It’s mad scientist stuff,” said Paul Charbonnet, whose company, Atmosphere Drones, specializes in shooting scenes for the film and TV industry.
Growth of drone use has swelled in large part because DJI, a Chinese drone manufacturer, started continuously exporting more advanced machines with an ever-expanding list of applications. Their drones arrive ready to fly with a simple user interface.
But DJI is now under threat of expulsion from the U.S. by regulators and lawmakers over national security concerns. U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, who represents New York’s North Country and chairs the House Leadership Conference, secured a provision in last year's national defense bill banning new purchases from DJI and Autel — another Chinese drone company — if a security audit on the companies isn’t completed by late December.
If the audit determines the companies pose “an unacceptable risk” to national security, new products will be banned in the U.S. within 30 days.
In July, Stefanik called on the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, headed by Director Tulsi Gabbard, to complete the study after months of public inaction from the intelligence community.
“Director Gabbard and members of the administration confirmed receipt of Chairwoman Stefanik's letter and are working closely with her office to thoroughly execute the audit,” said Alex deGrasse, a senior advisor to Stefanik.
Any progress on a study has not been previously reported.
“My hope was always that this would be taken seriously and that an agency would take up the audit,” said Adam Welsh, DJI’s head of global policy.
If an audit uncovers any security flaws, he added, the company should have “the right to respond to (the) findings, the opportunity to fix any identified flaws and a chance to discuss recommended security mitigations with the designated agency.”
“There are clear national security risks from relying on Chinese-built drones,” said Annie I. Anton, a professor specializing in cybersecurity and software regulation at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
DJI is obligated “to support People’s Republic of China state intelligence work no matter where they are in the world,” she added. For roughly two decades, Anton has worked on cybersecurity issues under both Republican and Democratic presidential administrations.
The Chinese company contends its taken numerous steps to protect U.S. national security. Beginning in June 2024, American users could no longer sync their data to DJI servers. DJI drones in critical industries can use undetectable code, erase data and fly completely offline. A study conducted last year by FTI consulting found that when in local data mode, drones didn’t send out any data.
The counterargument centers on Chinese companies' responsibility to serve their country’s interests when called upon. Over the last decade China has continuously increased its oversight over its domestic and foreign companies, a 2023 National Counterintelligence and Security Center report stated. In 2021, the Department of Defense said DJI drones may threaten national security.
Last year, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said Chinese drones pose a national security risk because Chinese laws give the government wide-ranging power to access and control data from Chinese companies.
The U.S. Department of Commerce is also nearing the end of a rule-making process — started under former President Joe Biden’s administration — which could outlaw imports of foreign drones.
A drone industry without DJI — which controls over 90 percent of the consumer market — is like the internet without Google or electric vehicles without Tesla, said Bobby Sakaki, a drone consultant.
The New York Civil Liberties Union last year found that around 88% of the more than 850 drones registered with the FAA by New York's state and local agencies were produced by DJI or Autel.
‘You can’t beat a DJI drone’
A wide array of law enforcement officials, small business owners and hobbyists who talked to the Times Union are concerned about the fallout of any potential ban.“It would be devastating and essentially eliminate the Albany County sheriff's drone unit,” Sheriff Craig Apple said.
When purchasing new drones, Apple said, he explored American alternatives but found that they didn’t perform as well as the Chinese models despite costing significantly more. Drones have helped with search and rescue operations across the county, Apple added.
“You can’t beat a DJI drone,” he said.
Tim Rigdon, founder of CropCare, an agricultural drone spraying company in western New York, is considering closing up shop if Chinese drones are banned. Agricultural drones map out farmers' land while checking growth patterns of their crop and can spray fields without needing heavy industrial equipment, which can be expensive and potentially damaging.
“The only way to get American companies to get better, because we're so far behind, is to fly American drones, but it's a huge upfront cost,” Rigdon said. “It's going to set us back before it pushes us forward.”
Even with no ban in place, DJI is slowly being squeezed out.
Charbonnet, the drone videographer, said he has resorted to scouring eBay for DJI drones and parts as shortages hit American markets. Reuters reported last year that U.S. Customs and Border Protection is blocking the import of some DJI drones under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which bars goods imported from a region of China where the government has been accused of using forced labor.
In 2021, the Department of the Treasury identified DJI among other companies as part of the Chinese Military-Industrial Complex for alleged biometric surveillance of Uyghurs, a Muslim minority, in that region.
“This assertion made against DJI, however, is entirely unfounded and categorically false,” the company wrote in a blog post earlier this year.
Justin L. Covert bought a drone at the behest of his fiance for a trip they were taking. Neither used it but when he came back Covert decided to test it out and became “obsessed.” Now, he runs Covert Photography as an extra source of income.
Upon hearing about the new rules Covert bought an Anzu Raptor. Anzu is an Austin-based drone manufacturer in partnership with DJI. The Raptor is practically a carbon copy of DJI’s Mavic 3, with its green color being the only noticeable difference. It also costs $1,500 more than the DJI version.
The apparent similarities garnered scrutiny from a bipartisan group of lawmakers.
“Security researchers have confirmed that Anzu’s Raptor T is essentially a DJI Mavic 3 painted green, with its remote control and application all running on DJI technology,” the leaders of the U.S. House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the U.S. and China wrote in a letter to Anzu CEO Randall Warnas last year. “It appears that DJI is using Anzu as a pass-through company in an attempt to avoid current and anticipated U.S. restrictions on DJI products.”
DJI disputed the lawmakers' concerns, saying the company entered into a “licensing agreement, through which Anzu acquired specifications related to the DJI Mavic 3 Enterprise products.”
Covert said beyond the cost difference, the American alternative didn’t provide the same range or reliability as his DJI drones.
Anzu is illustrative of another broader concern of drone businesses. American-made consumer drones are not only more expensive but also lack the quality of DJI.
“My responsibility to my clients is to get them the best technology available today and if it happens to be DJI, then that's what I owe my clients,” said Edward Kostakis, CEO of Xizmo Media, which does drone videography across a range of industries.
He added that he wishes there was an American drone manufacturer that could “hold a candle” to DJI’s products.
Limited options
America’s domestic drone industry is mostly coalesced around industrial products, policing and supplying the military.In 2022, the Schenectady Police Department bought BRINC drones for the city’s first responder program because they're “more durable and advanced,” said Peter Mullen, a spokesman for the department.
Drones made by BRINC — a Seattle company that produces the devices for police — are almost three times more expensive than DJI alternatives, according to Mullen.
DJI’s lead over American drone companies boils down to the general domination China has over global manufacturing.
American manufactures don’t have a “rich supply chain” of domestic options for parts, so companies have to spend time and money developing what can be sourced from China within a week, said David Benowitz, vice president of strategy and marketing communications at BRINC.
For example, drone motors were only built in China until recently, said Benowitz, who previously worked for DJI.
“That lack of supply chain also hinders building a ton of different models of aircraft,” he continued. “So you do tend to see a lot of players focusing on just one, two or three different, different models.”
Some companies have given up in the consumer market, opting instead to focus on procuring government contracts where DJI has been slowly phased out.
Skydio, a California-based drone company driven by artificial intelligence technology, left the consumer business in 2023, choosing to focus on “critical applications” like national defense.
“The impact we’re having with our enterprise and public sector customers has become so compelling that it demands nothing less than our full focus and attention,” Skydio CEO Adam Bry said in a 2023 blog post.
The company agreed to a $74 million contract with the U.S. Department of State to assist with counter-narcotics and policing earlier this year. In July, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued an order calling for combat units to be armed with a “variety of low-cost drones made by America's world-leading engineers and AI experts.” He also said hundreds of American drones would be approved for military use.
The New York Power Authority is “phasing out” Chinese drones, opting for Skydio products which are easier to pilot and offer better 3-D modeling, said Alex Chiaravalle, a spokesman for the authority. Drones help the agency with tasks that risk human safety like inspecting hydropower plants and power lines.
New priority industry
Anton, the Georgia Tech professor, supports a new CHIPS and Science Act targeted at the drone sector to build up a robust American industry.Approved by Congress in 2022, the legislation authorized $280 billion in spending to boost American computer chip manufacturing — tiny microchips are essential to AI and computing. It also included billions of dollars for Micron to support the construction of its upstate chip fab plants, which are projected to create 9,000 jobs.
The vast majority of chips are produced in Taiwan, which was facing supply shortages when the law was passed. If a ban is put in place, domestic drone users will be facing a similar shortage in what products they can obtain.
Banning Chinese drones would eliminate competition with that nation but new incentives for American suppliers will help advance the U.S. drone industry, Benowitz said.
A drone version of the bill promoting manufacturing growth at home could address national security concerns, while also ensuring Americans aren’t deprived of a technology gaining influence across numerous sectors.
Stefanik is committed to “giving American companies the tools and congressional support needed to help counter the threat posed by our adversaries on the drone market,” deGrasse said. She is also working to get a provision into this year’s defense bill requiring security reviews of new Chinese drone companies that may emerge after the ban goes into place.
‘Bad actors’
Foreign drones may be on the way out in New York, regardless of federal action.A bill passed unanimously by the state Legislature bars state agencies from purchasing any new equipment prohibited for federal use. Procurement of Chinese drones is banned by the federal government, meaning DJI products will likely fall under the new rules. The bill, which still needs approval from Gov. Kathy Hochul, includes local governments, although they can receive an exception.
Last year, the State Police spent around $150,000 on new DJI drones, according to state procurement information. The agency already owned about 100 drones, the New York Civil Liberties Union found. Drones in the State Police fleet are continuously scrutinized for compliance with “operations, security, and legislative requirements,” said Beau Duffy, a State Police spokesman. Duffy would not elaborate when asked whether DJI drones were studied for impacts on state or national security.
DJI failed to sway the legislation's sponsor, state Sen. Jeremy Cooney, a Rochester Democrat.
“There are some bad actors from foreign governments, who are already in the domestic market and should not continue to have relationships with New York state,” Cooney said, referring to DJI.
