As the latest chapter on drone maker DJI’s ordeal in the USA unfolds, the Chinese manufacturer has responded to last Friday’s letter by a dozen Republican US lawmakers, urging the federal government to deal with the issue of local farmers using Chinese-manufactured agriculture drones, saying their use on American farms poses national security risks.

The House members, including Representatives Elise Stefanik, Ashley Hinson and John Moolenaar, who chairs a select committee on China, asked the Agriculture Department and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to advise on the government’s efforts to address the alleged risks posed by the crop spraying drones.

“We are writing to express concern regarding the dangers of the proliferation of Chinese-manufactured agriculture drones throughout the United States,” the later read.

“Thanks to the ingenuity of American farmers, the U.S. has always been at the forefront of agricultural innovation. However, through unfair trade practices and massive government subsidies, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is weaponizing their monopoly of the global drone supply to gain leverage over our nations’ food supply.

“Food security is national security and the CCP is actively trying to undermine America’s global agricultural dominance.2 The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has drastically increased their ownership of U.S. agricultural land3 and Chinese spies have stolen U.S.-developed genetically modified seeds directly out of the ground in Iowa.4 Dominating the supply of agriculture drones is another strategy that the PRC is pursuing to jeopardize America’s food supply.

“According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, “aerosol dispensing” drones have the potential to be used as weapons delivery platforms and therefore face rigorous export restrictions. However, the U.S. has imported thousands of aerosol dispensing drones manufactured by Chinese-drone behemoth Shenzhen DJI Innovation Technology Co., Ltd. (DJI). DJI is closely linked to the CCP6 and is a Chinese Military Company according to the U.S. Department of Defense.

“Ultimately, this means that in the U.S. there are thousands of weapons delivery platforms that contain software, firmware, and hardware manufactured by a Chinese Military Company. The risk of these DJI agricultural spray drones being manipulated to carry out an attack in the United States cannot be ignored.”

The lawmakers went on to add that they were against the US having to rely on Chinese companies as suppliers of technology crucial to the success of an important sector of the US economy.

“Relying on our greatest strategic adversary for technology critical to the success of our agricultural production endangers the resiliency of our food supply. DJI’s line of agriculture drones includes advanced surveillance drones which incorporate sophisticated LiDAR sensors and multispectral cameras which DJI states can collect and interpret crop data that is “impossible for the human eye to see.”

“While this level of detail can assist farmers in effective crop management, it can also be weaponized by the CCP to gain access into granular level detail on the stability and condition of the U.S. agriculture sector.

“The risk of DJI’s transmission of data to the CCP is made clear in a recent industry cybersecurity guidance on Chinese-manufactured drones published by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). According to the guidance, using Chinese-manufactured drones, “risks exposing sensitive information to PRC authorities, jeopardizing U.S. national security, economic security, and public health and safety.”

Furthermore, China’s 2017 National Intelligence Law obligates “all” Chinese organizations and citizens to collaborate with state intelligence operations.10 Meaning that DJI must support China’s intelligence services and military by turning over data they collect in China and overseas.

The lawmakers asked for a briefing by September 30 this year.

As you may imagine, DJI has not taken this lying down; and has written an article denying that it has no ties to the Chinese military, saying “the unfounded accusations against our agricultural drone technology are putting U.S. farmers at risk by potentially depriving them of the tremendous benefits that DJI spray drones offer.”

The company said its agricultural drone technology “supports sustainable agriculture, allowing American farmers and business owners to integrate additional precision farming practices into their operations.”

In a statement to Reuters, the Chinese Embassy in Washington said China “firmly supports Chinese companies in carrying out international trade and cooperation in drones for civilian use, and opposes certain countries’ frequent illegal sanctions on Chinese companies and individuals on the grounds of so-called national security.”

The U.S. agencies declined to comment.

The congressional letter also noted that the Commerce Department has imposed export restrictions on aerosol dispensing drones that have potential to be used as weapons delivery platforms.

Stefanik called on the Agriculture Department and the cybersecurity agency to “take immediate action to mitigate the risks of Chinese-manufactured drones to our agriculture industry.”

She has proposed legislation seeking to bar new DJI drones from operating in the United States.

In 2020, the U.S imposed export restrictions on DJI. Lawmakers have said DJI accounts for more than 50 percent of all U.S. drone purchases.

DJI later published an article on its website in response to the letter; and below is the response in full.

For years, DJI drones have unlocked immense value for farmers nationwide, driving yield increases, reducing costs, and enabling more sustainable and innovative farming practices.

Efforts to restrict farmers’ access to DJI’s leading agriculture drone solutions – on baseless allegations – will only harm the industry and the broader communities it supports. In fact, farmers and industry voices have labelled such concerns as “overblown” and warned that these actions could lead to job losses.

Below we address key allegations from a letter sent by 12 members of Congress to the U.S. Department of Agriculture last week.

Get The Facts

• The letter alleges that DJI’s market leading role may be a result of ‘unfair trade practices and massive government subsidies’. In truth, DJI drones remain the product-of-choice across industries because of the combination of reliability, innovation and safety of our products – and because of our first mover advantage. Under the definition employed by DJI’s critics, virtually any company could be considered ‘subsidized.’
• Portraying DJI’s innovation-driven market leadership as a malicious attempt to “jeopardize America’s food supply” is not only completely false but also highly contradictory. In reality, DJI’s agriculture drone solutions have proven to support sustainable farming and help farmers incorporate precision agriculture techniques, enabling them to boost yields, lower crop input costs, and avoid expensive yield losses.
• DJI is a privately held and controlled company, and has been since its founding in 2006. The founder controls the company. No government entity or representatives sit on the board or have any role in its operations. DJI is also not a military company, and it does not have ties to the Chinese military. In fact, we remain one of few drone companies to clearly denounce and actively discourage use of our drones in combat. We do not manufacture military-grade equipment, nor do we pursue business opportunities for combat use or operations.
• DJI drones are safe and align with best practice cybersecurity. Despite critics pushing a multi-year political campaign raising concerns about the security of DJI drones, third-party audits and feedback from end users have consistently shown otherwise. Since 2017, we have continuously invested in regular security audits performed by reputable third-party experts, while also enhancing the privacy controls available across our drone models. DJI is also aligned with U.S. government and industry guidance for drone operators to practice good security hygiene and to perform regular reviews and training to ensure their protocols remain up to date with industry standards.
• DJI has never received any requests for overseas data under China’s National Security Law and National Intelligence Law. If it were to receive such an order, DJI’s policy is to review the request to check if it meets legal requirements for disclosure. Part of that requirement is that the disclosure would only include data that has been shared with DJI within the national jurisdiction of the government agency requesting it. To add, this only applies to data DJI does have access to – as we have said earlier: DJI does not collect flight logs, photos, or videos by default. 

Contrary to the letter’s misleading portrayal of DJI’s intentions in the U.S., our drones are designed and made accessible to enhance farming capabilities, making them more sustainable and resilient – especially in light of the growing risks posed by climate change. 

DJI drones also continue to create jobs and new businesses within the broader agricultural industry. Not all farmers fly their own DJI drones. Many rely on drone service providers, creating a profitable business opportunity for budding entrepreneurs.

For example, a former paralegal in Oklahoma began a drone spraying business after she realized how the technology could help her family’s farm, and a young entrepreneur in Ohio offers small farmers in Lorain County aerial crop spraying support in areas where crop dusting is not feasible. Meanwhile, other US-based and led companies have developed specialized software for DJI drones that are tailored specially for the agricultural sector.

If these members of Congress are truly interested in strengthening the U.S.’ agricultural capabilities and supporting farmers nationwide, they should:

• Engage directly with farmers to see first-hand how they use drone technologies to optimize their operations and increase yields,
• Develop clear, technology-based data security standards that all drone operators and manufacturers must follow, regardless of their country of origin, 
• Refrain from taking action on market-leading technologies – that support the growth and development of the industry – on baseless grounds.