Key House lawmakers are pressing the Trump administration to accelerate a congressionally mandated review of Chinese-made drones ahead of a potential US ban of the technologies later this year.
Three House Republicans influential on national security matters requested Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard complete the review within 30 days. Her office is charged with assessing security risks posed by communications and video surveillance equipment produced by DJI Technologies and Autel Robotics and other companies.
The faster review, the lawmakers said in a Thursday letter, is in line with President Donald Trump’s June executive order accelerating the safe commercialization of drone technologies.
The recent order “stresses the need for secure domestic production and supply chains, and recognizes the importance of minimizing undue foreign influence,” the lawmakers said in the letter.
The expedited review is “critical,” particularly “given the substantial market presence and existing use of equipment” made by DJI and Autel, they added.
Representatives John Moolenaar, chair of the select House committee on China; Rick Crawford, chair of the House Intelligence committee; and Elise Stefanik, a member of the House Republican leadership team who Trump initially picked as his ambassador to the United Nations before giving the post to another candidate, joined in signing the letter.
The 2025 National Defense Authorization Act specifically mandates a national security review of Chinese-made drones, including those from DJI, which is also known as Shenzhen Da-Jiang Innovations Sciences and Technologies Company Limited.
The two companies could be automatically added to the Federal Communications Commission’s Covered List, which effectively would ban any new drones made by the firms from being imported or sold in the US.
DJI commands more than 70% of US market share and was included in 2022 on a Pentagon blacklist of Chinese firms with military ties. It has denied that its drones present a security risk.
In March, the company told Bloomberg that it had never had a request to hand over its data under the Chinese National Intelligence Law, and that its drones had passed several cybersecurity assessments.
The company published a statement on its blog in June saying it was ready for a security audit and called for “a fair and transparent process.”
Photo: A DJI Matrice 600 drone at the East China Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Base in Shanghai. Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
Topics Legislation China Politics
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