Are all DJI drones [Pro 2] grounded?

[USAirCreations]

I have been reading back and forth. New drone and got it in December direct from DJI with screen. I keep reading that the DJI line is grounded. Any truth?

 

[Mavic Mac]

First - Welcome to the forums - great place to get tips and answers to your questions. Also, the search function if an excellent place to search for the many questions a new member will have.

Certain agencies of the US Govt have stopped using DJI drones for fear they are being covertly used to spy for China - it has not affected the hobbyist market

 

[zocalo]

There may be some confusion over the extended New Year's "holiday" in China to do with the Corona virus as well. Like many companies in China, DJI had ceased production to help limit the spread of the disease as a result of the governement mandated extension to the normal public holiday period, but is now in the process of getting things back up and running.

As a non-government (and even then, some agencies are still flying their DJI drones) user of a DJI drone there's nothing to worry about on this score and you can continue to fly your aircraft wherever it is safe and legal to do so, regardless of whether that is commercially or for leisure. It might be worth reading up and keeping informed on the FAA's NRPM for drone remote ID though as if passed that may have the potential to change how/where/when you can fly.

 

[Joe4flight]

First - Welcome to the forums - great place to get tips and answers to your questions. Also, the search function if an excellent place to search for the many questions a new member will have.

Certain agencies of the US Govt have stopped using DJI drones for fear they are being covertly used to spy for China - it has not affected the hobbyist market

Hello Mavic Mac, do you know if all the DJI facilities that keep the DJI biz running are located in China? If a DJI customer were to send an email inquiry, or return a drone for repair, would the client get a response in a reasonable period of time? No worries if you can’t answer this question. Thx!!

 

[zocalo]

Hello Mavic Mac, do you know if all the DJI facilities that keep the DJI biz running are located in China? If a DJI customer were to send an email inquiry, or return a drone for repair, would the client get a response in a reasonable period of time? No worries if you can’t answer this question. Thx!!

DJI are primarily based in Shenzhen, China (their full company name is "SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd.", which is in turn short for "Shenzhen DJI Sciences and Technologies Ltd."), which is where their main (only?) manufacturing facility is located. They've just returned to work after a government mandated "extended holiday", so hopefully the impact will be relatively minor, although I suspect there will be at least some knock-on effects to international shipping and the global supply chain.

 

[The Editor]

I have been reading back and forth. New drone and got it in December direct from DJI with screen. I keep reading that the DJI line is grounded. Any truth?

Define ‘Grounded’ - elaborate.

 

[jpzend125]

Hello US Air Creations and welcome to the forum. First, my non drone business gets all its products from China and despite what you may be hearing, very few factories have resumed production, some we learned today have be told by the government to stay closed for up to 2 more weeks. Even if a factory is open again, there will be a huge issue with their workforce returning to cities for fear of the virus. Remember, they all were off and went back to their home provinces before the epidemic was public knowledge.

Second, that having been said, I have an open case with DJI support and they have been extremely quick to respond. Right now, for me at least, customer service and communication are all we have to keep our customer base loyal.

 

[Peter Hughes]

First - Welcome to the forums - great place to get tips and answers to your questions. Also, the search function if an excellent place to search for the many questions a new member will have.

Certain agencies of the US Govt have stopped using DJI drones for fear they are being covertly used to spy for China - it has not affected the hobbyist market

Had to smile when I heard about this fear of spying. Have the same US Govt depts wondered where most, if not all, the chips, in most, if not all, of their defence systems come from ???

 

[brettbrandon]

Had to smile when I heard about this fear of spying. Have the same US Govt depts wondered where most, if not all, the chips, in most, if not all, of their defence systems come from ???

I don't see that as a fair comparison. The chips by themselves can't "spy". That would have to be done by the circuit or device they are inserted into... Such as a complete drone.

 

[Deleted member 93449]

Hello US Air Creations and welcome to the forum. First, my non drone business gets all its products from China and despite what you may be hearing, very few factories have resumed production, some we learned today have be told by the government to stay closed for up to 2 more weeks. Even if a factory is open again, there will be a huge issue with their workforce returning to cities for fear of the virus. Remember, they all were off and went back to their home provinces before the epidemic was public knowledge.

Second, that having been said, I have an open case with DJI support and they have been extremely quick to respond. Right now, for me at least, customer service and communication are all we have to keep our customer base loyal.

I'm hearing something a similar story regarding the factories we deal in mainland China. It extends beyond those we deal with directly to companies that are headquartered in Japan, Taiwan and Korea but have manufacturing facilities in China.

 

[Peter Hughes]

I don't see that as a fair comparison. The chips by themselves can't "spy". That would have to be done by the circuit or device they are inserted into... Such as a complete drone.

Very true. But if you’re making the chips, is it possible you could also build in weakness’s that could be exploited, such as failure at a crucial point in time?

I should say I, in no way, think that. In fact I would go so far as to say it would be paranoia if you did.

But then it’s perhaps just as paranoia to believe the Chinese government have teams of people sifting through countless data streams looking for military secrets. The manpower required would be staggering.

A quick look at Google Earth would provide similar data.

Caution is one thing but occasionally it’s possible to be a little ott and the idea of grounding Chinese made drones is plainly ott and fodder for the conspiracy theorists.

 

[skiptv]

FYI I can’t take pictures of March Airbase in CA with my Drone. So I just got them from google maps, just like anyone including the Chinese can. Grounding DJI from federal government work was a political move to put pressure in China in the trade war created by this administration. The Dept of the interior did a one year study and concluded no sensitive data was being stolen by DJI and yet after that study they were banned, and in doing so hurt 100s of small businesses and freelancers who do contract work for the department of the Interior. Note: the most recent head of the Dept of Interior had to resign after misuse of 100s of 1000s of tax payer money to fix up his office, buy new clothes, take Military aircraft for personal transportation..., etc.

 

[Sixgun89]

Had to chime in! I work for one of the biggest DOD contractors making radars and avionics as well as aircraft. I can tell you NO parts come from China. Not all domestic, but mostly. F35, F22, EA18, P8, E3A, E2D, EA6B, predator, BAMS, etc.

 

[skiptv]

Had to chime in! I work for one of the biggest DOD contractors making radars and avionics as well as aircraft. I can tell you NO parts come from China. Not all domestic, but mostly. F35, F22, EA18, P8, E3A, E2D, EA6B, predator, BAMS, etc.

US put China-made parts in F-35 fighter program

The Pentagon waived laws banning Chinese-built components on US weapons to keep the F-35 fighter program on track in 2012 and 2013, a report said.

www.cnbc.com

 

[Sixgun89]

Really old news! Samarium Cobalt material in antennas in 2014, Barry amendment non compliant material only.
Not likely they can hack via rare earth magnets. Raw material only, sintered in USA.

 

[skiptv]

Really old news! Samarium Cobalt material in antennas in 2014, Barry amendment non compliant material only.
Not likely they can hack via rare earth magnets. Raw material only, sintered in USA.

the news might be old, but all the planes are in service, correct.

 

[Sixgun89]

Yes and some magnets were made from Chinese raw materials

 

[simsurf]

I suspect your own government is now likely to be spying on you than the Chinese. The whole thing reeks of hypocrisy.

 

[Thomas B]

I have been reading back and forth. New drone and got it in December direct from DJI with screen. I keep reading that the DJI line is grounded. Any truth?

Only U.S. government agencies are prohibited from using DJI drones, including the M2 series, for official business... but if you read the mandate they are actually allowed in some circumstances.
Private individuals are not affected.