Across the globe, the adoption of agricultural drones has soared. According to drone manufacturer DJI Agriculture’s 2023/24 report, by the end of 2023, over +300,000 agricultural drones were in use in more than 100 countries and regions. As of June 2024, these drones have treated over +1.2 billion acres (500 hectares) of farmland. But as more farmers are adding drones to their operations, US lawmakers are threatening a ban on popular Chinese brands.
DJI is the leading provider of ag spraying drones both in the US and globally. In fact, the company is the world’s largest drone manufacturer, commanding a market share of over 70% worldwide. DJI is also a Chinese-based company, something that has raised criticisms among US drone manufacturers as well as alarms among officials.
Around 4,000 to 5,000 drones or “uncrewed aerial systems” (UAS) have been imported into the US from China for agricultural spraying, US-based drone company Guardian Ag estimates. As much as 99% of drones in the US are Chinese-made, and mostly from DJI and XAG. Even though Americans invented commercial drones, Guardian Ag says China has managed to dominate the small drone space thanks to strategic policy, targeted investment, and subsidies, in turn driving many US drone companies out of business.
Officials across multiple US agencies are also raising alarms about the potential security risks that thousands of Chinese drones flying around the country might pose. Agricultural drones are equipped with an array of sophisticated sensors and cameras that are constantly collecting detailed data about their surrounding environment.
Arthur Erickson, CEO and co-founder of drone manufacturing company Hylio points out that the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense have made moves over the years to limit usage of Chinese-made drones in the government sectors. “The government isn’t revealing exactly what the vulnerabilities are and what the Chinese drones are stealing from us, but they have made moves to remove them so we can only assume that they are in some way dangerous to national security,” explained Erickson.
In January, the FBI and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) warned that Chinese-made drones pose a “significant risk” to U.S. critical infrastructure. While DJI insists that its products do not collect or transmit data without the user’s consent, the FBI notice highlighted that Chinese law now gives the government “expanded legal grounds” for accessing data held by Chinese companies. The Department of Defense specifically identified DJI drones as a national security threat earlier this year.
Data that these drones have access to includes everything from crop yields to the location of energy grid infrastructure and military installations. On top of that, unmanned aerial vehicles are susceptible to various types of cyberattacks like GPS spoofing, data interception, and remote hijacking, says Erickson. “Meaning that hackers or third-party bad actors could get access to these drones and use them for nefarious purposes.”
DJI in its report says that several countries have liberalized their regulations in the last year to facilitate the use of agricultural drones. In North America, both the United States and Canada adjusted their policies to accommodate the growing use of drones in agriculture. DJI notes that the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted exemptions for several DJI Agras models, allowing them to be used for farmland spraying. DJI’s report also highlights the environmental and economic impacts of agricultural drone usage. According to its calculations, by treating over 1.2 billion acres of farmland, farming drones have saved 210 million metric tons of water — equivalent to the annual consumption of 390 million people. Additionally, the use of agricultural drones has reduced the application of pesticides by 47,000 metric tons, leading to a decrease in environmental pollution. Furthermore, carbon emissions have been cut by 25.72 million metric tons, equivalent to the annual carbon sequestration of 1.2 billion trees.
Congressional members in Washington have been making moves to ban Chinese drones. House Resolution 2864, or “Countering CCP Drones Act,” was introduced in the US House in May. It includes a provision that would prohibit Chinese-made drones from utilizing the U.S. communications infrastructure, which the drones need to operate. It would also put DJI on the FCC’s list of “untrustworthy suppliers”, which would immediately ban new DJI products from being approved for import into the US and might pave the way to ground existing drones.
At the state level, several have already banned or restricted Chinese drones in state agencies, including Arkansas, Florida, and Mississippi. Kansas, South Dakota, and a few other states are reportedly looking at banning Chinese-made drones altogether. Keep in mind that the “drone ban bill” has not yet been reviewed because Congress is currently adjourned for the August recess and is scheduled to return to session on September 9. Stay tuned… To see a quick video on the Top-5 Crop Spraying Drones for 2024, Click HERE (Sources: DJI, Brownfield Ag, DesertReview, AgTechNavigator)
