Chinese manufacturer SZ DJI Technology is unarguably the world’s largest drone manufacturer when it comes to consumer drones. The company’s customer base extends beyond China to the US, Europe and several other countries. In the US, DJI drones are deployed by not just the consumers but by the government agencies such as the police and military. According to Jan Gasparic, director of strategic partnerships at DJI, US public safety agencies are rapidly adopting unmanned aircraft from the Chinese drone maker even as the Trump administration voices security concerns that the devices could be sending sensitive surveillance data back to China.
At the RISE tech conference held in Hong Kong, the DJI exec stated; “Between 2015 and 2018 we have seen 500 per cent growth of drone adoption by public safety agencies in the US.” He stated further, “The reason for such a fast rate is because this technology has a transformative impact on the type of work they do.”
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DJI is taking proactive measures to reassure the US authority and end users that its drones are no security risk just because they are manufactured in China. This is a proactive measure before the security concerns gather steam and become another Huawei/US imbroglio. The company says it will assemble its Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual drones in Cerritos, California after the US Customs and Border Protection determines that the US-produced value of its drones will qualify under the US Trade Agreements Act. That designation should make it easier for some US government agencies to buy the drones, the company said. In addition, Gasparic hinted that the company is taking different approaches to put core technologies into new products and product categories.
DJI currently controls up to 80% of the drone market in the US.
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