Of the 1500 public safety agencies in the United States, only 1% of drones are Made in the USA.

Bard College recently released the Public Safety Report on Drones, noting that 1,578 public safety agencies have purchased drones. Yet with the politically driven security concerns on Chinese drones, lawmakers are asking questions about how these drones are assisting public safety.

DJI is largely credited for brining drones to the mainstream rc market. It’s no surprise that the Phantom is the Public Safety drone of choice.  The Phantom offers the best camera shutter and suite of 3rd party apps to solve nuanced problems.  Elite pilots always choose the Phantom for drone mapping, photography, inspections and videography.

Public Safety agencies are mainly using Chinese made drones to serve the American public. In fact, of the 1,578 Agencies taking flight, 924 of them are using drones made by DJI.

The remaining manufacturers listed in the report manufacture there drones or parts in China as well. Which has many users questioning if they can even buy an American made drone that can compete with DJI. 

Are there any American Drone Manufacturers? 

Bard’s drone report only mentions Physical Sciences as a potential drone manufacturer based in the United States.  Physical Sciences, the parent company to InstantEye Robotics, which is located in Andover, Massachusetts.  This company offers a small drone that can operate in “any” weather (not legally possible) We wonder if Bard hadn’t asked respondents about other Drones made in the USA, and thus why they were not mentioned?

Even the footprint of American manufacturers is really small. Many are scratching their heads wondering if the United States could even produce a drone that could compete at a reasonable price point. 

List of Drones Made in the USA

1. Skydio
2. Easy Aerial
3. Flir
4. Aerovironment 
5. Impossible Aerospace
6. Physical Sciences 
7. Watts Innovations
8. FreeFly Systems

While the United States has been slowly ramping up drone production, there is not a single manufacturer who can simply and rapidly scale production.  The United States simply cannot compete against the likes of DJI or even Autel.  If the manufacturing capacity was available, even some wonder if any US based company could create drones that offer a seamless user interface and autonomous features Pilot’s expect. 

Public Safety Pilots may be forced to ditch drones made with Chinese Parts.  

The drone industry has heard rumors that the Trump Administration might vastly restrict Chinese made drones and even Chinese made parts.  

Drone U received a leaked version of this executive order, similar to the Rick Scott Bill that would decimate the drone industry by eliminating Chinese made drone parts.   Many lawmakers have been questioning public safety on their use of chinese made drones due to security fears. While security fears may have been valid 5 years ago with drones, the issue has been solved.  

Let me make this very clear, previous security claims stated that DJI leaked data to chinese servers. 

How is this possible? How does image information, telemetry and other data get to China?

Simple…. over the internet. 

Every DJI drone can now be flown without the application having internet access... Thus solving the problem. Or if drone pilots controlled their drones with an iPod Touch, instead of their iPhones or iPads… problem solved. 

The American Government seems to be so concerned with Chinese made drones, the rumors detail that the Executive Order would eliminate the use of Chinese made parts in drones. 

If the American government were to eliminate the use of Chinese made parts, like brushless motors and simple propellers…. .the entire drone industry would disappear.

Much like traffic in the beginning of the coronavirus, people would disappear. 

Manufacturers like Skydio even use Chinese made parts in their aircraft. So if the Administration were to cease the use of Chinese made parts in drones, say goodbye to the drone industry. 

Cost of drones made in the USA

According to Bard, the median cost of a small unmanned aircraft system was $12,000.00 While this figure does not account for training costs or ancillary materials, it seems like a high number compared to the average cost of a Phantom at $1,599. 

The average number of drones per agency was 3.9.  Taking the average number of drones and the median cost of equipment, that leaves us to assume an average cost of $3,000 per drone. 

Unfortunately there is not a drone on the market, that can offer the features of a DJI Phantom for anywhere close to that price point. The closest comparison would be the Impossible Aerospace drone that sells for about $7,500.00.

American’s face a dark future for aviation as drones made in the USA cannot compete on feature sets and price. If the Trump Administration cuts off Chinese made parts, watch the drone industry nose dive. Drones made in the USA would take years to ramp up production in order to scale manufacturing operations. 

Would additional United States legislation help build an American manufacturing of drones or decimate the industry in the wake of the aftermath?      

 Will Public Safety fly drones made in the USA?

Red Blooded Americans seem to want drones made in the U.S.A.  A haphazard collection of Public Safety Drone Pilots launched a study in 2019 asking pilots if they would want drones made in the U.S.A. Shockingly, 88% stated the would. Since then, the collection of drone-ponders took down the study and we couldn’t link it. 

DJI attempted to appease law makers by creating a Government edition drone. The system was intended for use in critical infrastructure or high security areas. Albeit, many UAS engineers giggled at this claim due to the technical feasibility.  So, many of the security precautions taken with this “Government,” addition could also be accomplished by controlling the drone without an internet-enabled device. 

(Albeit, the FAA wants to connect every drone to the internet….. hello security flaw?) 

While many “experts,” argue that America will have a competitor to DJI….. No one drone, made in the USA, is close.  These same experts state that drones like the Sky-Raider would be commercially feasible. But, with a price point 10-20x that of a Phantom, many would disagree. 

The complexities in operating this aircraft, paired with the high cost to manufacturer the drone would eliminate this UAV as a competitor. So, due to the higher cost of aircraft would eliminate the efficiency that drones add to many businesses and public safety agencies alike. 

While many public safety agencies have been purchasing drones at an ever-increasing rate, the number of crashes has risen as well.  Larger agencies, like the FDNY, have argued that more drone programs should focus their budgeting efforts on training. 

What if the United States propped up an American Drone Manufacturer?

Should Public Safety agencies be allowed to fly drones made with Chinese parts? 

Should public safety drones, connected to the internet be outlawed?

Let us know, 

-Paul Aitken, Call Sign @taitkenflight 

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