link : US Interior Department grounds Chinese-made drones
US Interior Department grounds Chinese-made drones
The US Department of the Interior has grounded its fleet of Chinese-made drones as it conducts a review of the program.
Nick Goodwin, an Interior Department spokesman, did not provide a reason for the decision but it comes amid US security concerns over Chinese electronics.
Goodwin said the review had been ordered by Interior Department Secretary David Bernhardt.
"Until this review is completed, the Secretary has directed that drones manufactured in China or made from Chinese components be grounded," he said.
Exceptions would be made for drones that are being used for emergency purposes such as fighting wildfires, search and rescue, and dealing with natural disasters, Goodwin said.
According to sources familiar with the program, the Interior Department has a fleet of 810 drones, almost all built by Chinese companies.
Only 24 are US-made and even those have Chinese electronic components, the sources said.
The US Department of Homeland Security issued a warning in May that Chinese-made drones could pose a security risk.
The United States has also taken steps against China's Huawei by effectively banning American companies from selling or transferring US technology to the Chinese telecoms giant.
US intelligence believes Huawei is backed by the Chinese military and that its equipment could provide Beijing's spy agencies with a backdoor into the communications networks of other countries.
China's foreign ministry said Friday that it was "still seeking further understanding of the specific situation" but called for the US to provide a "non-discriminatory environment for Chinese companies".
"We urge the US to stop abusing the concept of national security, stop exaggerating the so-called China threat, and stop oppressing Chinese companies without reason," foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a regular press briefing.
The Chinese company DJI produces about 70 percent of the world's commercial drones.
"We're very disappointed," a DJI spokeswoman told AFP, adding that the company had no other comment for now.
The Pentagon has banned the military from using DJI drones for security reasons since 2017.
Related Links
UAV News - Suppliers and Technology
| Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a |
Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.
If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor$5 Billed Once credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter$5 Billed Monthly paypal only
Swarm of tiny drones explores unknown environments
Delft, Netherlands (SPX) Oct 24, 2019
Researchers have presented a swarm of tiny drones that can explore unknown environments completely by themselves. This work, presented in Science Robotics on 23 October, forms a significant step in the field of swarm robotics. The challenge comes from the fact that the tiny 33-gram drones need to navigate autonomously while having extremely limited sensing and computational capabilities. The joint research team - with researchers from TU Delft, University of Liverpool and Radboud University of Nij ... read more
from Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense https://ift.tt/2PFDMF2
via space News
thus Article US Interior Department grounds Chinese-made drones
You now read the article US Interior Department grounds Chinese-made droneswith the link address https://uswordarmy.blogspot.com/2019/11/us-interior-department-grounds-chinese_3.html
Related Posts :
West Point Graduate Does Not Hide His Communist Sympathies- Pentagon Cannot Account $700 Million In US Ammo Given To The Afghan Forces
- French Navy Mistral-class LHD Tonnerre Taking Part in Disaster Relief Ops Following Hurricanes
World News Briefs -- September 27, 2017
Iraqi Kurds Back Independence By 92% in Referendum
0 Response to "US Interior Department grounds Chinese-made drones"
Post a Comment