Pentagon OKs Chinese Drones Previously Banned over Espionage Concerns

After years of citing potential spying by China via sophisticated drones, the Pentagon has approved the U.S. military to acquire two Chinese-made "Government Edition" drones.

A recent Pentagon report seen by the Hill found "No malicious code or intent" in two drone models manufactured by Da Jiang Innovations, a Chinese company, and one of the world's foremost drone makers.

Almost 80 percent of all drones used in the United States and Canada are made by DJI. The Department of Defense green-lighting controversial drones comes after escalating concerns at the federal level around the security of DJI and Chinese drones more broadly.

Individual U.S. agencies have taken their own measures, including the Pentagon and Department of Justice, while in 2019 the Department of Homeland Security issued an alert that Chinese-made drones were stealing data.

The DHS alleged that Chinese drones can record and store sensitive data - flight paths for example - and transmit it back to Chinese intelligence agencies.

The Justice Department also banned the use of agency grants last year to purchase drones from foreign companies deemed a threat, seeking to address potential cyber and foreign influence threats.

It remains unclear why the Department of Defense explicitly calls China a "Pacing threat," yet approved the military use of China-manufactured drones that were previously banned by multiple U.S. federal entities over espionage concerns.

https://thenewamerican.com/pentagon-oks-using-chinese-drones-previously-banned-over-espionage-concerns/