London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

US said to be planning to halt nearly 1,000 civilian drones over concerns of China spying

US said to be planning to halt nearly 1,000 civilian drones over concerns of China spying

A US Interior Department spokesperson said a review of its drone program, which uses devices made at least partially in China, is ongoing. Department staff have voiced concerns that taking the fleet out of action will cost the government significant time and money
The US Interior Department is said to be planning to halt its civilian drone program, one of the government’s largest, over concerns about devices being made at least partially in China.

The department plans to ground nearly 1,000 drones after concluding there is too high a risk that they could be used by Chinese government for spying, according to a report from the Financial Times citing two people familiar with the plans.

US Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt has not yet signed off on a policy but people briefed on his thinking say he is planning to pull the fleet from action, with exceptions made for emergencies such as fighting wildfires and training, the Times reported.

A department spokesperson said the review is ongoing and drones manufactured in China or containing Chinese components remain grounded except for emergency use, according to the report.

Department staff have voiced concerns that taking the fleet out of action will cost the government significant time and money, according to documents seen by the Times, which also showed that staff at various agencies have protested against the proposals.

Shenzhen-based DJI, which made 121 of the drones in the US Interior Department’s civilian drone fleet, is probably the biggest name affected by the planned ban. The company has faced increasing scrutiny amid trade tensions between the US and China, with the Trump administration voicing concerns that its drones could be sending sensitive surveillance data back to China.

In recent months, US lawmakers introduced more than 20 drone-related bills, many aimed at regulating or restricting Chinese-made machines and building up US competitors. DJI’s drones – which account for 75 per cent of the global market – have been banned by the US military since 2017.

The Chinese drone maker said in a statement that while it had not seen the new policy, it looked forward to reviewing findings of the department’s review of its drone program “given the lack of credible evidence to support a broad country of origin restriction on drone technology”.

“DJI drones continue to be among the industry’s most safe, secure and trusted drone platforms,” the company said in a statement. “We urge policymakers and industry stakeholders to come together to create clear standards that will give commercial and government drone operators the assurance they need to confidently evaluate drone technology no matter where it is made.”

In spite of security concerns, DJI drones are still widely adopted by US government agencies, police and first responders. Its drones account for as many as eight in 10 drones used in the US, according to a 2017 report by Skylogic Research.
The drone maker has been exploring ways to diversify its business in recent years. At the CES technology event last Monday, it unveiled two new light detection and ranging (lidar) sensors it said could be used in areas such as autonomous driving, mapping and mobile robotics.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×