CHINA WATCHU.S. Senate to Vote on Bill That May Lead to Chinese Drone Ban
The 2025 defense spending authorization bill is coming up to a final vote in the U.S. Senate. As the American Northeast buzzes with drone sightings and fears of foreign surveillance, the bill moves to ban products from the world’s largest drone-maker: China.
The 2025 defense spending authorization bill is coming up to a final vote in the U.S. Senate. As the American Northeast buzzes with drone sightings and fears of foreign surveillance, the bill moves to ban products from the world’s largest drone-maker: China.
In a procedural vote on Monday, senators voted 83-12 in favor of moving to a full vote on the National Defense Authorization Act, a massive piece of annual legislation that sets priorities and authorizes funding for the U.S. Department of Defense.
A provision within the 2025 NDAA aims to create mechanisms for further oversight and prohibition of the use of Chinese drones while working to increase drone supply chain resilience within the U.S. and partner countries.
The bill mandates an investigation into two Chinese drone manufacturers, DJI and Autel Robotics, with the aim of placing them on the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) “Covered List.” This would prevent their use in telecommunications industries. Another section calls for the Department of Defense to regularly disassemble and analyze the components of DJI drones.
The provision on drones draws in part from earlier anti-Chinese drone legislation introduced by Republican Representative Elise Stefanik and Senator Rick Scott. These bills received bipartisan support, showing how concerns over the risk that Chinese drones pose to U.S. national security have united a politically divided Congress.
“DJI drones pose the national security threat of TikTok, but with wings,” Stefanik said. “This Chinese-controlled company cannot be allowed to continue to operate in the U.S.”
During an interview on Fox News, Democratic Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi described how he collaborated with Stefanik to draft legislation on Chinese drones to be included in the NDAA.
“These Chinese-manufactured drones allow for the CCP, the Chinese Communist Party, to access data in a backdoor manner and ultimately surveil Americans,” Krishnamoorthi said.
China’s DJI dominates the production and sale of household drones, with 2021 estimates suggesting that the company accounts for 76% of the worldwide consumer market and about 90% of the U.S. market. While more companies have emerged in past years, DJI still controls the largest share of the market.
This gives the U.S. an increased imperative to diversify the domestic drone economy, Carlos Gimenez, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee’s Transportation and Maritime Security Subcommittee, told VOA.
