US will unleash 'drone dominance' by fast-tracking production

[Felix le Chat]

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archkennedy.com

Just as a matter of curiosity.... Do you own a DJI drone? How about all the rest of the consumer electronics in your home? Where was the phone/tablet/P.C./Mac you're using manufactured?

And the best question of all after 15 minutes of tumbleweed.... If it's manufactured by "...the enemy...": why did you buy it?

 

[hank970]

There's no doubt that we have the engineering expertise and manufacturing capabilities to design and build drones. What we lack is the long-term vision, the will, and a sense of urgency (because it's easier to let George do it at a lower cost). Our seeming inability to compete in some sectors of a global marketplace is a self-inflicted wound, one we can remedy if we put our minds to it.

For years following the Apollo and shuttle programs, we wallowed in risk aversion and cost avoidance. Rather than continuing what we did best, we paid the Russians to transport our astronauts to and from the ISS. But imagine how amazed our rivals were the first time they saw one of Space-X's used boosters right itself and land intact on a platform at sea -- a great potential cost savings. Then the Chinese busied themselves figuring out how to duplicate the feat, and they succeeded.

Think about the resurgence of Japan and Germany after WWII. How long, admittedly with a lot of help from us, did it take them to arise from the ashes and start building better cars than the crap we produce in Detroit? We thought we were the only game in town until we weren't. That's what laziness, arrogance, and resistance to change get you.

Here's hoping we can get past this childish fear and distrust of "the other" and our current administration's penchant for lashing out at friends and foes and tilting at windmills. We should be better than that.

 

[tstr14]

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How do tariffs impact the U.S. economy? Learn how they boost jobs, strengthen national security, and reduce foreign dependence. 🇺🇸 Read more!

archkennedy.com

What a crock of eco-babble. At the very best, which is nothing but pie in the sky thinking, some jobs will be created in the US, but the products they create will not save consumers a cent. Here's an example: China sells widgets for $100. With a 30% duty, the widget now costs $100. An American company starts producing widgets here. A) The widgets use computer components made in China, which also have a 30% tariff. Because China has little to no restrictions on working conditions and very low wages, whereas here, there are laws to comply with and higher wages, the company's end cost on the widget is $100. But... that is the manufacturing cost. Nobody is going to sell widgets without a markup, so even if you don't reach the Chinese price of $130, you still end up paying more for the widget. "Well look at all the jobs that were created!" News flash! There are lots of jobs available right now. "But those jobs only pay $15 an hour"! Another News flash! Mr. Widget maker isn't going to pay his employees $30. Maybe $20 - maybe. Is $20 an hour a good paying job? Not in my book.

And that was "Best Case". Worst case, The Widget company still can't compete and ends up asking $140 for their Good Old Made In The USA widget. Yes, I would pay $10 more for the US product but the overwhelming number of US citizens (especially those $20 an hour widget employees) won't. Even worse, the Chinese plant lowers the cost of their widgets to $90, and even with the tariff, they will drive the US company out of business - just like they and other foreign countries have been doing for the past 60 years.

Tariffs are part of the solution, but part, and a rather small part at that.

 

[hank970]

supply exceeds demand? are you saying the US is producing more drones than people want?

Pay attention. My post didn't mention the word "drone."

 

[Dave Pitman]

Please.. NO ONE ever said to inject bleach. No, Trump didn’t tell Americans infected with the coronavirus to drink bleach

You can't make this stuff up. The common "disinfectant" being used during the time of that video was rubbing alcohol and bleach. Like it or not, that's what he said.

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[Dave Pitman]

Your last bullet ... yet people on this forum seem to be A-OK with getting their "inexpensive" yet "very good" electronics from a country that could care less about its people or their safety.

Do you think we should care about that more or less than caring about the erosion of the social safety net in the US and piling on another 3+ trillion $ for our kids to pay just to give the ultra wealthy a tax break?

 

[Dave Pitman]

You are right, we don't CURRENTLY have this capability. But it sounds like you would rather not invest in US manufacturing and continue to let our largest and most dangerous adversary be dominant in that area. Is that correct?

The last administration was implementing policy and programs that would help US manufacturers compete with China's solar and wind products. This admin ended it.

 

[anotherlab]

You are right, we don't CURRENTLY have this capability. But it sounds like you would rather not invest in US manufacturing and continue to let our largest and most dangerous adversary be dominant in that area. Is that correct?

You can't wave a magic wand (or executive order) and say "make it here". You would need to ramp battery production, start making ICs here, and start investing in embedded software. Build a plant that can make the camera lens, and another one for sensors. Keep naming parts of a drone and walk through the manufacturing process,

It can be done, but it's going to involve a massive amount of government spending. An amount that this administration would loathe to spend.

 

[JoeShmoe]

Could someone please explain how banning DJI imports would boost domestic drone industry? Ppl will turn to maple-leaf bro's to bootleg DJI units. As if Prohibition Act didn't teach anything....

 

[mavic3usa]

Could someone please explain how banning DJI imports would boost domestic drone industry? Ppl will turn to maple-leaf bro's to bootleg DJI units. As if Prohibition Act didn't teach anything....

First you ban the import and when that doesn't work, second you make it crime to possess it and if that doesn't work, third you confiscate the contraband using force. The vast majority of the drone community are hard-work, law-abiding honest citizens and when push comes to shove, we will fight back and go to court but ultimately we'll obey the law. Flying drones is not a right and it's not an essential and it's not a vice (to some) so in the long run, the ban will be mostly effective and at least clear out the way to allow the subsidized domestic drone industry to have a reason to take taxpayer money from the central government and pull together a half-way decent drone for the deprived masses to buy and have something to fly; we'll call it the government drone. And if Canada doesn't stop sending fentanyl, I mean drones, to the US, their tariffs will go from 30% to 90%. /s /s /s

 

[Dave Pitman]

First you ban the import and when that doesn't work, second you make it crime to possess it and if that doesn't work, third you confiscate the contraband using force. The vast majority of the drone community are hard-work, law-abiding honest citizens and when push comes to shove, we will fight back and go to court but ultimately we'll obey the law. Flying drones is not a right and it's not an essential and it's not a vice (to some) so in the long run, the ban will be mostly effective and at least clear out the way to allow the subsidized domestic drone industry to have a reason to take taxpayer money from the central government and pull together a half-way decent drone for the deprived masses to buy and have something to fly; we'll call it the government drone. And if Canada doesn't stop sending fentanyl, I mean drones, to the US, their tariffs will go from 30% to 90%. /s /s /s

Yeah. And the US drone industry will look like the car industry in Cuba.

But you can have all the guns you want, at least.

 

[DARKSeifer]

DJI is so far away that you need to fence up your market to think you can keep up with it; living the illusion.

 

[djwak59]

The U.S. will never have "drone dominance", just like we'll never have dominance for any product that requires this level of manufacturing. We have been offshoring manufacturing (along with R&D and tech support) since the 1970s. Are we supposed to wave some magic wand and make it all come back? We don't have access to raw materials (even though we have MASSIVE lithium deposits) , nor do we have the manufacturing capabilities to produce the 100's of 1000s of new drones every year that we'll need to supply both the commercial and recreational side of the industry.

It's a pipe dream made up and supplied by the anti-China crowd, and pushed politically by U.S. manufacturers that can't compete with DJI and Autel.

Better watch out with any replies to this. The powers that be at the forum have a tendency to silence ANY comments that even get CLOSE to politics. And seeing how this contains video of Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense, we’ll see how far this goes.
Right now, you CAN’T discuss the current situation with the drone market/ industry WITHOUT involving politics.
And that’s my opinion anyway.

 

[Vic Moss]

Better watch out with any replies to this. The powers that be at the forum have a tendency to silence ANY comments that even get CLOSE to politics. And seeing how this contains video of Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense, we’ll see how far this goes.
Right now, you CAN’T discuss the current situation with the drone market/ industry WITHOUT involving politics.
And that’s my opinion anyway.

I'm not worried. You can discuss politics w/o the discussion turning political. Nothing in my comment is political. Some other comments in this thread are definitely political though, and they'll likely be removed this week.

 

[Vic Moss]

You are right, we don't CURRENTLY have this capability. But it sounds like you would rather not invest in US manufacturing and continue to let our largest and most dangerous adversary be dominant in that area. Is that correct?

Don't put words in my mouth! Nothing in my comments show any inclination to not invest in the US drone manufacturing industry. If you knew anything about me (Google is your friend), you'd realize how utterly ridiculous your statement is.

 

[MS Coast]

Tariffs and the U.S. Economy: How They Strengthen America

How do tariffs impact the U.S. economy? Learn how they boost jobs, strengthen national security, and reduce foreign dependence. 🇺🇸 Read more!

archkennedy.com

That reference cites all the pie-in-the-sky effects that tariffs MIGHT have, but offers no evidence that the erratic tariff policies we're seeing now will, or even can, have those desired effects.

 

[ericole]

Just as a matter of curiosity.... Do you own a DJI drone? How about all the rest of the consumer electronics in your home? Where was the phone/tablet/P.C./Mac you're using manufactured?

And the best question of all after 15 minutes of tumbleweed.... If it's manufactured by "...the enemy...": why did you buy it?

So this is basically a black-or-white fallacy - because I own something made in China I can't argue against China. Yes, I do own a DJI drone (original Mavic Pro that I bought used, not from DJI directly) or I wouldn't be in this forum. I have a (very old) iMac and an iPhone, but most of my electronics are decades old and were NOT made in china, but in Japan or Korea. The reality is that some products have no other source - so a person can choose to buy them or do without.

That does NOT mean I can't point out the reality of why that is bad and support methods to change the current paradigm. Unlike many, I'm not willing to throw my hands up and just accept it. In the work I do I'm privy to many things that the average consumer is not, and I am very aware of the dangers of China holding such a sway over our electronic lives.