This week, U.S. Senators Marco Rubio, Rick Scott, and Tom Cotton (as well as U.S. House of Representatives member Elise Stefanik, who introduced parallel legislation) introduced the Countering CCP Drones Act in an effort to add DJI, a Chinese technology company, to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) “Covered List.” The “Covered List” identifies telecommunication equipment
DJI
DJI Responds to Recent Cybersecurity Report on App Vulnerabilities
By Kathryn Rattigan on
Posted in Drones
This week, China-based DJI, the drone industry’s leading manufacturer of drones, issued a public statement regarding the recent reports released by cybersecurity researchers (neither Synacktiv nor GRIMM) about the security of its drones’ control app.
In two reports, the researchers claimed that an app on Google’s Android operating system that powers DJI drones collects large…
U.S. Interior Department Grounds DJI Mavic Pro Drone for Cybersecurity Reasons
By Kathryn Rattigan on
Posted in Drones
Last week, the U.S. Interior Department (the Department) grounded its fleet of over 800 DJI Mavic Pro drones, citing potential cybersecurity risks and the desire to support U.S. drone production. This suggests that the Department is at least in part concerned with the manufacture of the DJI drones in China. While Interior Secretary David Bernhardt…
FAA Announces Details about the Recreational Drone Flyer Test
By Kathryn Rattigan on
Posted in Drones
This week, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced more details about its new recreational drone flyer test, which will be an opportunity to educate recreational flyers about the rules of flying a drone in national airspace. An FAA law passed in 2018 requires recreational drone flyers to pass an online aeronautical knowledge and safety test,…
Washington State Increases Drone Fleet to 111 Drones
By Kathryn Rattigan on
Posted in Drones
Over only a few years’ time, Washington State Patrol (the Patrol) has built a drone fleet of 111 drones. The Patrol says that it uses these small drones for crash investigations and fatality scenes, and not for surveillance purposes. Detective Sergeant Clint Thomas said that roughly 100 state troopers and detective across the state are…
U.S. Interior Approves Use of DJI Drones
By Kathryn Rattigan on
Posted in Drones
The U.S. Interior Department (the Interior) authorized government officials to buy drones from DJI Technology (DJI) after a previous warning that the company may act as a channel for Chinese government espionage. However, Mark Bathrick, Director of the Office of Aviation Services, said, “[This authorization is] a very narrow, very specific, very limited authorization. We’re…
DJI to Manufacture Some Drones in the U.S. to Cure Security Concerns
By Kathryn Rattigan on
Posted in Drones
DJI, a supplier of approximately 70 percent of all drones in the United States, announced this week that it will begin manufacturing some of its products in the U.S. DJI plans to repurpose a warehouse in Cerritos, California to assemble a new version of a drone that has been popular among federal and local government…
UAS Industry Stakeholders Provide Feedback on FAA’s Proposed Rules
By Kathryn Rattigan on
Posted in Drones
Several industry leaders and stakeholders in the unmanned aircraft system (UAS or drone) industry have provided feedback on the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) proposed rules for flying drones at night and over people, as well as for drone safety and security issues.
The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) argued in its comments that…
Drone Activity Halts Newark Airport Flights
By Kathryn Rattigan on
Posted in Drones
Last week, reports of “drone activity” temporarily halted flights at the Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had to briefly hold arrivals due to “reports of drone activity north of the airport earlier that evening.” The airport had to coordinate with the FAA and federal law enforcement authorities to…
FAA Approves Nine New LAANC Service Providers
By Kathryn Rattigan on
Posted in Drones
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced new partners in its Low Altitude and Notification Capability (LAANC) initiative. LAANC is the system created by the FAA and industry stakeholders that provides near real-time processing of airspace authorizations for unmanned aerial systems (UAS) operations under the FAA’s Part 107 regulations. Now, after a five-month onboarding process (which…