Foreign-made drone ban leaves one major U.S. federal agency scrambling over high costs

In a sweeping policy shift in 2020 that was meant to safeguard national security, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) restricted the use of drones that could be purchased for use within the agency, blocking those that were manufactured in adversary nations.

That largely meant the Department of Interior could no longer acquire new DJI drones, which are made in China. And in a report released by the U.S. Government Accountability Office on Sept. 25, 2024, it’s clear that the policy has caused significant operational challenges.

Now the report applies specifically to the Department of the Interior which has been using drones since 2006. It references the period between January 2020 and October 2022, when the department prohibited both procurement and non-emergency use of drones from adversary nations (such as Chinese-made DJI drones).

With that, the agency simply stopped using drones for most operations aside from emergency operations, such as search and rescue, or firefighting. And in short, the policy — which came about as part of an ongoing effort to protect critical data from foreign surveillance risks — had largely negative effects. That includes rising costs, shrinking drone fleets and delays in essential land management activities such as wildfire monitoring, wildlife conservation and public safety.

Here’s a deep dive into what happened once the Department of the Interior changed its drone policy to ban procurement of new DJI drones, as well as to stop their use for non-emergency purposes. And with that, here are some vital clues as to what might happen, should the government step up bans on Chinese-made drones going forward (which could very well happen).

What is the Department of the Interior and how do they use drones?

Before diving into the effects of the policy shift, here’s a quick overview of the Department of the Interior.

This executive department of the U.S. federal government oversees a wide range of operations regarding management and conservation of federal lands and natural resources. It encompasses the National Parks Service, as well as other federal land that amounts to 500 million acres in total. Its most active drone users include:

• The Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
• Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)
• National Park Service (NPS)
• U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

So how do those Department of the Interior agencies use drones? Extensively — and for good. Way back in 2013, I interviewed Wayne Perryman, a scientist at the NOAA’s Cetacean Health and Life History Program who used drones to count whales.

Now, the Department of the Interior has used other, American-made drones since the policy change (and even before that). For example, Simi Valley-based drone maker AeroVironment supported the National Park Service in Woolsey fire recovery efforts. The company used its Quantix drone and Decision Support System analytics platform to gather data that would inform long-term environmental recovery and park rebuilding strategies.

And just this past spring, the U.S. National Park Service commissioned a drone flight to conduct a first-of-its-kind health check-up for General Sherman, a 275-foot-tall tree located within California’s Sequoia National Park. The tree, which is estimated to be more than 2,200 years old, got its health checkup by way of a Freefly Astro Prime drone. That NDAA-compliant and Blue UAS-approved drone retails for $26,000 and is made in Woodinville, Washington.

Security over speed or savings: the origins of the anti-DJI drone policy

With that background, how did the new policy blocking acquisition of new DJI drones (and limiting use of existing ones) come about?

The ban stemmed from growing concerns over cybersecurity vulnerabilities in foreign-made drones, particularly those manufactured in China. Chinese made drones are widely used in both government and commercial sectors.

In January 2020, the DOI issued an order halting all non-emergency flights of drones manufactured by or containing parts from companies domiciled in “adversary” nations. That order cited potential data security risks. The policy also banned the procurement of non-compliant drones, leading to a sudden freeze in new purchases.

It’s a similar anti-DJI policy to many others we’ve seen hit at an increasing rate. For example, the American Security Drone Act of 2023 is a bipartisan bill that would prohibit all federal agencies (not just the Department of the Interior) from purchasing drones made by Chinese government-linked countries.

Meanwhile, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)’s Buy American Act sets a threshold for how much of a product needs to have been made in America to actually count as American-made. Right now, the threshold is 65% of parts must have been made in America. Though, it increases to 70% by 2029.

And perhaps the most widely known of all of them, the Countering CCP Drones Act would place DJI on a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) blacklist. That effectively blocks new DJI drones from accessing the communication infrastructure needed to operate in the US. And with that, DJI drones would be rendered moot not just for federal use, but for all U.S

The Department of the Interior’s policy impact today

Though the intention was clear — reduce the possibility of sensitive, Department of the Interior data being compromised by foreign governments — the ban has had unintended consequences for the agency’s day-to-day operations. Here are some of them:

Aging fleets and rising costs

The report paints a grim picture: most of these agencies’ drones are approaching the end of their usable lifespans. Drone technology iterates incredibly quickly, and useable drones back in 2020 are just so far out of date.

However, procurement of new, compliant drones has proven costly. In fiscal years 2022 and 2023, the average cost per drone skyrocketed from $2,600 to more than $14,000. What’s more, that $2,600 is one that even accounts for inflation, adding to the staggering figure. And some models far exceed even $15,000.

Here’s a visual from the report, showing exactly those price increases:

The steep price hikes aren’t because drones as a whole are becoming more expensive. In fact, drones are getting cheaper.

The thing is, the affordable drones are those made in China, particularly those from DJI. American-made drones are far more expensive.

Delays in receiving compliant drones have further compounded the problem. BLM, for instance, ordered new drones for fire management in March of this year. But as of April 2024 — despite the fact that the Interior had ordered 98 drones in fiscal year 2024 — only 46 had been delivered.

Grounded operations and missed opportunities

From January 2020 to October 2022, the grounding of Interior’s drone fleet for non-emergency operations dramatic reduced its ability to perform essential tasks. The consequences have been felt most acutely in wildfire management. With drones unavailable for aerial ignition operations, the department has been forced to rely on helicopters. That’s an expensive and riskier alternative. Helicopters require a crew to fly close to the ground in hazardous conditions. In turn, that increases the danger to personnel, while escalating operational costs.

Wildlife management and environmental monitoring have also taken a hit. In some cases, projects were canceled altogether due to a lack of drone availability. For example, the agency abandoned a plan to monitor endangered sea turtles in national parks. That resulted in a loss of critical data on the population and movements of the world’s most endangered sea turtle species, the Kemp’s ridley.

The GAO report notes that the absence of drones has led to longer project timelines, higher costs and greater risks to human safety. Without drones, Interior workers have reverted to on-foot methods to collect data over vast terrains. Most consider those approaches te both inefficient and labor-intensive. In one notable example, staff at the Fish and Wildlife Service spent three months manually monitoring endangered lupine habitats in Wisconsin. Drones likely could have completed that task in a fraction of the time.

Strain on research and partnerships

The Interior Department’s ban on foreign-made drones also applies to nonfederal partners. That includes universities and research institutions that collaborate with the department on various projects. This restriction has strained many of these relationships. For instance, a proposed University of New Mexico project to use drones for waterfowl monitoring on Fish and Wildlife land was halted because the university’s drones did not meet compliance standards.

What’s next for DOI and their drone fleet?

Even today, the agency has severely cut back on buying new drones. That’s left America’s government agencies without access to the latest new drone technology. Even in 2023, the government purchased very few new drones:

And it’s not just that the government is using the old drones to keep on with the same work.

“As of fiscal year 2023, total flights for each of these bureaus were still below 2019 levels due to their diminished drone fleets and challenges with identifying and purchasing new drones that meet their needs,” according to the report.

The American Security Drone Act of 2023 further enforces the ban on foreign-made drones. That law is set to come into full effect by December 2025. While exemptions exist for emergency operations such as wildfire management, the future of Interior’s broader drone program remains uncertain.

To cope, the DOI has begun exploring alternatives. That includes purchasing fewer, more versatile drones that can be shared across multiple programs. However, without substantial increases in funding or domestic drone production, the department may struggle to rebuild its fleet in time to meet the growing demands of federal land management.

In the meantime, the agency’s reliance on older, increasingly unreliable drones continues. That’s forced a battle between satisfying calls from politicians and other influential lawmakers for greater national security, versus using the best (which means most affordable) equipment for the job. And that’s challenged the management of complex ecosystems and vast wildernesses of America’s public lands.

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