DJI
Opinion: DJI and The American Drone Delusion: We’re Not Catching Up, We’re Falling Behind
The FCC banned DJI, but American drone makers will never catch up. Eight years of data proves the US drone industry gap is widening, not closing.
China
Export controls, the Shenzhen supply chain, and the geopolitics of the world’s drone-manufacturing superpower.
593
Articles
82
Beats covered
9
Reporters on beat
Nov 11
Last updated
China
Japan to Send Drones to South America to Fight Illegal Fishing
Japan has pledged to provide drones to Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, and Uruguay to help the four South American nations monitor their exclusive economic zones and crack down on illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, according to Sea Food Source. The move is aimed at improving surveillance of foreign fishing fleets operating just outside, and sometimes inside,…
DJI
DJI Power 1000 Mini launches in China
DJI has launched the DJI Power 1000 Mini in China, introducing several nice to have features that help it compete more directly with rival products.
China
China’s 1,118-Mile Cargo Drone Completes First Flight
China’s high-altitude 1,118-mile-range unmanned cargo plane just nailed its first flight, and yes, it did so without a pilot asking where the runway went, according to Interesting Engineering. The Tianma-1000, China’s newest unmanned transport aircraft, completed its maiden flight on Sunday, proving that cargo drones are no longer just oversized quadcopters with ambition issues. Developed…
DJI
DJI RS5 Gimbal Stabilizer to release on Jan 15 in China only
DJI has posted a teaser for its upcoming camera gimbal, the DJI RS5, slated for release on January 15th 2026, only a few days away. While the U.S. and most other regional DJI sites show no hint of the product, the Chinese site already displays the teaser, suggesting the RS5 will debut in China before rolling out…
Department of Defense
Commerce Department Drops Drone Restrictions as Trump Prioritizes Xi Diplomacy Over China Hawks
I spent the morning reading a story that should make every drone pilot pay attention to what is happening in Washington, not just with the FCC, but with the broader diplomatic chess game being played between the United States and China. While the FCC’s December 22 ban on foreign drones grabbed all the headlines, the…
FCC Filing
DJI’s Shell Company Gambit Backfired Spectacularly, and the Entire Drone Industry Paid the Price
I’ve spent months documenting DJI’s network of suspected shell companies, from Skyany to Spatial Hover to Jovistar. What started as investigative journalism became a front-row seat to watching a company outsmart itself into oblivion. Now that the dust has settled on the December 23 FCC ban, one uncomfortable truth has become impossible to ignore: DJI…
Industry
A Silicon Valley Founder Exposed Why U.S. Drone Manufacturing Won’t Scale Anytime Soon
I’ve been reading a lot of optimistic press releases about American drone independence lately. The Pentagon wants a million drones. Executive orders promise to unleash domestic production. Politicians declare that we’re breaking free from Chinese supply chains. Then a defense-tech founder in Silicon Valley writes a Forbes column that quietly demolishes the entire narrative with…
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