Drone wars

The US is considering a ban on the import and sale of drones made by Texas-based Anzu Robotics, stating that the company has technological ties to a restricted entity, which is understood to be China’s DJI. If the move goes ahead, this will see an extension of Washington’s ban on foreign drone technology, and would suggest that regulators are prepared to target any American-registered companies they suspect are acting as intermediaries for Chinese firms.

Drones are one of the major frontier technologies, and while they might not get as much attention as AI, EVs or robots, their applications both commercially, and militarily are numerous. Drones, much like EVs, can also collect huge amounts of data, which can have the potential to be transmitted and reused. This is the basis for Washington’s security concerns.

The concern regarding Anzu Robotics is that despite being a Texas-registered company, its drones are manufactured in Malaysia, and it is alleged that the company is using DJI parts from China in that process. Earlier this year, when banned Nvidia chips found their way into Chinese labs, it was also alleged they had done so via a Malaysian intermediary.  There will always be loopholes and workarounds for import and export controls, and so tightened regulatory scrutiny will come as no surprise.