A firefighter sets up a DJI drone during a training session in Rocky Hill, Connecticut.
Photographer: Landon Speers/BloombergThe Chinese-Made Drones Used by US Police Face a MAGA-Fueled Reckoning
Fight over airspace security pits cash-strapped police departments against lawmakers vying to disrupt what they say is Beijing’s deep reach into the United States
President Donald Trump’s administration faces a Tuesday deadline for declaring whether Chinese drone maker DJI Technologies poses a national security threat, a decision with the potential to ground thousands of machines deployed by police and fire departments across the US.
The president already signed an executive order in June targeting “foreign control or exploitation” of America’s drone supply chain. That came after Congress mandated a review to determine whether DJI deserves inclusion in a federal register of companies believed to endanger national security.