China syndromeU.S. Military Still Buying Chinese-Made Drones Despite Spying Concerns
The Air Force and the Navy bought Chinese-manufactured drones for elite forces months after the Pentagon prohibited their use due to cybersecurity concerns, according to government documents. In each case, the services used special exemptions granted by the Pentagon’s acquisition and sustainment office “on a case by case basis, to support urgent needs,” a Pentagon spokesman said.
The Air Force and the Navy bought Chinese-manufactured drones for elite forces months after the Pentagon prohibited their use due to cybersecurity concerns, according to government documents.
In each case, the services used special exemptions granted by the Pentagon’s acquisition and sustainment office “on a case by case basis, to support urgent needs,” Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Mike Andrews told VOA.
The Department of Defense issued a ban on the purchase and use of all commercial off-the-shelf drones, citing “cybersecurity vulnerabilities,” in a memo from then-Deputy Secretary of Defense Pat Shanahan dated May 23, 2018.
The ban came nearly a year after the U.S. Army, the Department of Homeland Security and members of Congress warned that drone-market-leader Da Jiang Innovations (DJI) could be helping the Chinese government spy on the United States.
“We know that a lot of the information is sent back to China from those, so it is not something that we can use,” Ellen Lord, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, told reporters at the Pentagon last month.
However, purchase orders completed in August and November 2018 show that the Navy spent nearly $190,000 and the Air Force spent nearly $50,000 on drones made by DJI.
The Air Force bought 35 DJI Mavic Pro Platinum drones, and the Navy bought an undisclosed number of drones from DJI’s “Inspire” series.
Special forces at risk?
The 2018 drone purchase orders obtained by VOA via public records appear to be for some of the military’s most sensitive and secretive operators, including the Air Force’s only special tactics wing and Navy Sea Air Land (SEAL) teams.
VOA has confirmed through documents and sources within U.S. Special Operations Command, the Navy and the Office of the Secretary of Defense that the drone purchases were made by the Florida-based 24th Special Operations Wing and the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division in Indiana, which provides engineering and technical support for the Navy’s electronic warfare and special warfare weapons used by the SEALs.
Special tactics airmen in the 24th Special Operations Wing lead global access, precision strike and personnel recovery operations.
Navy SEALs carry out military extractions and insertions to accomplish covert missions, including collecting intelligence and capturing high-value enemies.
