China sure entered the drone world in a big way. The Chinese company DJI controls the major segment of the commercial drone world, while Chinese military drones are selling like hotcakes around the world. These drones (looking suspiciously like the original U.S. drones) are much cheaper (and more obtainable) than U.S. drones. China is on its way to becoming the largest military ‘drone arms’ dealer in the world.
The reason is simple; Chinese reverse-engineered copies of American drones sell for considerably less. And while the U.S. only sells its military drones to such ‘staunch allies’ as France, Italy, and the United Kingdom (while denying other allies drones), China will sell to anyone with the yuan or bitcoin to buy. Their growing list of customers includes Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, UAE (that part of the world could sure use some military drones, eh?) as well as Nigeria, Ethiopia, Zambia (all holding honorable mentions in treating their citizens and neighbors humanely), Egypt, Algeria, and even Myanmar (with its stellar history of treating folks nice. Killer drones are surely safe to be in their hands).
And that’s just a list of the official countries who are customers. I’m fairly sure the Chinese government would see no ethical quandary in providing military drones to other less official (e.g., terrorist or revolutionary) groups. If they did, the new Chinese drone factory in Saudi Arabia (through which Saudi Arabia will sell licensed copies to the highest bidder) surely would sell them whatever they could afford.
I’m quite sure the Peoples’ Liberation Army would not be so stupid as to sell their best drones to potential competitors (as we do in the U.S.), and it’s a safe bet they are keeping the real good ones to themselves. Yet even with the new Chinese initiative to dominate ‘near-space’, and its new record-setting altitude for drone operations, their killer satellites and ‘traditional’ air force most likely present more of a ‘red peril’ than just the drones do. However, with traditional forces, large military drones and satellites/directed energy weapons combined, coupled with new drone swarm technology they’ll probably soon steal (or buy) from us, they actually could constitute a peril from the air, should some issue like the Spratley Islands or right-of-way on the seas inflame their military anger.
A good article about China’s rise (in the Middle East, Africa, and elsewhere) in the drone world can be found at: https://fpif.org/china-is-flooding-the-middle-east-with-cheap-drones/ .
So, the Chinese communist PLA (Peoples’ Liberation Army) has recently unveiled some new military UAS technology to aid in its new imperialist agenda. While these UAS may present a definite peril to the U.S. national and military interests (and those of any other free, democratic nations), our national news media rarely reports Chinese military (or technical) accomplishments. Still, the Chinese do seem to have a bit of a military drone agenda.
Yet the idea that the PLA (through Chinese drone manufacturers) would continue its program for drone supremacy through recreational drones (and the ‘intelligence’ they provide) is widely scoffed at and discounted as paranoid nonsense (typically by people who don’t have engineering or science degrees). Once U.S. President Trump spoke publicly on the potential threat (in the midst of a ‘trade war’), half the nation instantly wrote it off as a crackpot theory (despite any evidence supporting the contention/Twitter).
Despite the undeniable evidence of how sensitive data has been forwarded to the Chinese PLA by Chinese-manufactured cell phones (specifically Huawei, which has subsequently been forbidden from selling phones in the U.S.), many somehow believe the same (or similar) thing couldn’t happen in the drone world.
Recent history begs the question: is there a potential peril/security risk from using UAS made in China (communist China, not Taiwan China)? Let’s consider a few things:
- All Chinese manufacturers are required to (as a condition of doing business in China) cooperate with the PLA or other branches of government, and provide access to any data obtained -on demand- under national security auspices.
- Available to the PLA and ChiCom (Chinese Communist) government is a wealth of data being obtained for them by U.S. citizens (and others around the world). What government wouldn’t avail themselves of this free ‘intelligence’?
No one likes to think of an ‘eye in the sky’, allowing Big Brother to monitor their every move. It’s even less palatable (tolerable?) when the eye in the sky is that of a foreign, totalitarian government, with little love for the U.S. and democratic republics. It becomes downright creepy when we (either knowingly or not) are the ones gathering data for Big Brother (foreign or not).
But back to those evil ole Chinese. Are Chairman Mao’s wayward children using your own drone to spy on you and your country? Likely not…but they could if they wanted to. Are they using UAS owned by military, DOE (Department of Energy), or infrastructure providers? Likely so…if they had a lick of sense. Again, what intelligence agency worth their name would forgo such a wonderful information-gathering opportunity? – the NSA and Google sure haven’t.
Yet communist China is not the only foreign government which might try to exploit such an opportunity. Iran would jump at the chance. Unaffiliated terror groups such as ISIS drool at the thought. The Russians would do it in a heartbeat. Yet none of those countries sell a single drone in the U.S. (or the free world). Yet GoPro-reject DJI (a communist Chinese company) holds over eighty percent of the commercial drone sales worldwide.
…and DJI is based in Shenzhen, the Peoples’ Republic of (communist) China. That’s the place where the government can walk in and demand cooperation, and there is no choice but to comply (if you want to do business there…or live). If you happen to think the government of PRC is too responsible or morally pure to do such a thing, maybe ask the Uighur people, living in Xinjiang province of (communist) China.
So…does a ‘red peril’ really exist in the drone world? Should we even care? Who is more likely to stop us flying, the PLA or the FAA? Even if there was a proven peril, it’s not like we have the choice to simply Buy American, and foil their commie plot. The only real American drone company (SkyDio) is a startup, and trying to make its way on superior technology alone.
…until the new, proposed FAA Remote ID (and tracking) rules came out, that is. That really put a wrench in SkyDio’s works (while coincidentally aiding Chinese giant DJI). Thus, there is no real, fully functional (order today and get your product overnight, if you pay shipping) American drone company to choose.
Still, the real peril will most likely come not from civilian drones spying on us (with or without our knowledge), or from military drones, or from armies. If any peril will come from (Communist) China, it will more likely come in a more subtle form, as befits the land of Sun Tzu (author of The Art of War), who so famously said (and I may be paraphrasing here) “the best war is the one the enemy does not even know he’s engaged in.”
A Brave New Drone World 