Drone Company DJI Isn't Leaving This Pentagon Watch-List Anytime Soon, And Here's Why

The specter of participation in China's "defense industrial base" is not leaving drone-maker DJI anytime soon. Back in 2022, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) added it to a list that designated DJI as a Chinese military company. The company denied it and subsequently filed a lawsuit against the Pentagon to get the designation overturned. The company's efforts have now proven futile. A U.S. federal court has ruled that there is "substantial evidence" to prove the military links, and so the classification remains intact.

"In light of DJI's substantial history of receiving these other forms of assistance from various Chinese governmental entities, it is reasonable to infer that DJI is also receiving assistance through the NETC (National Enterprise Technology Center) program," the court noted. The ruling also argued that "DJI's drone and camera technology has substantial dual-use applications in military and civilian settings," noting that such a status quo supports the Chinese defense industrial base. The ruling, however, won't stop the business, and DJI can continue to sell drones in the U.S. market.

The court further mentioned that there is "ample evidence" of deploying modified DJI drones to carry explosives in armed conflict. The ruling also adds that it's irrelevant whether DJI's policies prohibit such usage of its drones, and the reality is that they are theoretically and actually involved in military applications. DJI maintains that it is "not controlled by the government and has no ties to the military." The company has argued that the DoD's claims aren't true and that it has taken a wide range of measures to ensure that its drones are not misused, especially for military applications.

The first wave of security-related concerns regarding DJI drones started in 2017, when the U.S. Army halted the deployment of DJI drones over vulnerabilities. This came merely a year after it was reported that the China-based company shares user data with state actors. In the wake of the U.S. Army's pause, the company added a few privacy-centric features that disable live streaming of footage and block map installation, among others. 

In 2019, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security warned that Chinese-made drones are a "potential risk to an organization's information" and data, though it didn't name-drop DJI in its memo. A few months later, the Interior Department grounded its fleet of DJI drones over cybersecurity risks. Towards the end of 2020, the Department of Commerce put DJI on its Entity List, but this time, the firm was blacklisted over participation in human rights abuses and surveillance. 

This was followed by a similar action by the Treasury Department, banning U.S. entities from buying DJI's gear or investing in the company. It was in 2022 that the U.S. Department of Defense put the drone maker on the "Chinese Military Companies" list, a claim that was denounced by the company. Towards the end of 2024, the company filed a lawsuit against the Defense Department, challenging its designation of DJI as a military company. In the same window, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) required all agencies to conduct a risk analysis of all drones supplied by Chinese brands by the end of 2025.