Ongoing Efforts to Restrict Use of Chinese language Drone Expertise within the U.S. Intensify
Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) and Rating Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) of the Home Choose Committee on the Strategic Competitors Between the USA and the Chinese language Communist Social gathering have taken a brand new step of their ongoing efforts to handle nationwide safety issues associated to Chinese language drone expertise. In letters to Anzu Robotics’ CEO, Randall Warnas, and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, the lawmakers demanded readability on Anzu’s relationship with SZ DJI Expertise Co., Ltd. (DJI), the Chinese language drone firm that holds roughly 80% of the worldwide drone market share.
Considerations Over Anzu’s Relationship with DJI
Of their correspondence to Anzu’s CEO, Moolenaar and Krishnamoorthi raised issues about Anzu’s enterprise practices, citing safety researchers who found that Anzu’s Raptor T drone is actually a rebranded DJI Mavic 3. The letter acknowledged, “[S]ecurity researchers have confirmed that Anzu’s Raptor T is actually a DJI Mavic 3 painted inexperienced, with its distant management and utility all operating on DJI expertise.”
The lawmakers questioned whether or not Anzu is performing as a “passthrough firm” for DJI, geared toward circumventing U.S. restrictions on DJI merchandise.
The letter questions the unconventional nature of the DJI-Anzu relationship. Anzu says that DJI supplies industry-leading drone expertise by way of a license that permits Anzu to switch and manufacture the expertise with out sharing royalties or possession, and with no requirement to report buyer knowledge. The lawmakers remarked, “Given these info, it’s exhausting to grasp the enterprise rationale for DJI to enter into this relationship apart from utilizing it as a passthrough to avoid authorized restrictions (present and potential) positioned on its merchandise.”
Questions for Anzu Robotics
Moolenaar and Krishnamoorthi requested solutions from Warnas on a number of factors, together with the date Anzu first disclosed that its drones have been rebranded DJI merchandise, the character of the contractual preparations with DJI, and particulars of any factories concerned within the manufacturing of Anzu’s drone elements. They requested why Anzu didn’t disclose its relationship with DJI till after public stories confirmed that Anzu was successfully promoting rebranded DJI merchandise.
Consistent with lawmakers ongoing acknowledged issues about Chinese language manufactured drone expertise, the letter additionally questioned the safety of Anzu merchandise, significantly concerning the involvement of DJI in offering technical help. Lawmakers questioned the steps Anzu has taken to make sure that DJI doesn’t extract knowledge from U.S. prospects when offering this help.
In response to DRONELIFE’s request for remark, Anzu CEO Randall Warnas says that the corporate will work with lawmakers to resolve their questions. “We imagine there are elementary misunderstandings about how Anzu Robotics operates and complies with the regulation,” stated Warnas. “We look ahead to working collaboratively with the Committee to handle their issues.”
Broader Context and Subsequent Steps
This inquiry comes amidst broader efforts by Congress and federal regulators to counter the nationwide safety menace posed by Chinese language drone corporations. DJI has been a focus of those efforts.
Earlier this yr, the Home handed the Countering CCP Drones Act, which might prohibit DJI expertise from accessing U.S. communication networks if signed into regulation. Moreover, DJI has been positioned on varied U.S. authorities restricted lists, together with the Pentagon’s blacklist as a ‘Chinese language army firm’ and the Commerce Division’s Entity Listing.
Lawmakers at the moment are questioning whether or not Anzu Robotics and one other drone maker, Cogito Tech Firm Ltd., are serving as cut-outs for DJI. They’ve requested that the Division of Commerce think about steps to handle these issues and take applicable motion in opposition to these corporations if crucial.
