Ukraine buys thousands of DJI drones to help fight off Russians
Ukraine's Mykhailo Fedorov, the country's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation said that Ukraine had bought thousands of DJI drones to help fight off the Russian army.
The $6.8 million purchase that included 2,372 quadcopters and 11 military drones was paid for with funds contributed by the Come Back Alive fund, which has been collecting donations for Ukraine's defense since Russia's 2014 invasion and annexation of Crimea.
Fedorov shared some photos of the newly bought DJI drones, including the DJI Mavic 3, earlier this week.
Concerns about Chinese DJI drones
While the Ukrainian army is aware of the concerns surrounding the use of Chinese drones, they keep buying DJI drones by the thousands.
“It's a complex issue,” said Victor Zhora, deputy head of Ukraine's State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection about the concerns regarding possible connections between DJI and the Chinese government.
“Every Chinese firm [is] under the Chinese government,” said the spokesperson for Ukrainian drone unit Aerorozvidka. “We use them but we're not going to make any ads for DJI.”
Fedorov's office did not explain how the DJI drones were used, reports Forbes. The Ukrainian military did not immediately respond to inquiries for comment.
Whether DJI likes it or not the world's largest drone maker is getting dragged into the conflict as both sides are using DJI drones on the battlefield.
Let us know what you think of the use of DJI drones in the Ukraine-Russia war in the comments below.
Photos courtesy of Ukrainian army and Ministry of Digital Transformation and
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Haye Kesteloo
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I mean this really shouldn’t be a surprise..most capable plug and play aerial footage collection devices on the planet as well as cost effective even if they had to pay full retail ea it’s a no brainer. As for the being under the CCPs thumb part…kind of a given as the official stated, don’t like it don’t buy em and buy from other sources or build your own. How it goes when a start up turns into the Toyota Hilux of drones. 🤷🏻♂️
#badoptics #welp
I said weeks ago that Ukrainians should be using these for surveillance, & I’m sure they could easily be weaponized.
From simple impact detonated 1/2lb bombs dropped from bird sized drones @ 5,000 feet with GPS accuracy, to incredibly good HD surveillance.
With how many they have purchased, they must be planning to weaponize them.🤔(Otherwise that’s an insane amount of surveillance considering how much you can see from 2000 feet up w/a single drone)
People still falling in believing on FAKE NEWS and APRIL FOOL