DJI just sued the Pentagon. The Chinese drone manufacturer strikes back after receiving a hard blow in the United States

DJI has sued the United States Department of Defense after being included in the list of “Chinese military companies”. The Shenzhen-based firm has said that such designation is incorrect and is negatively affecting its finances and reputation. Specifically, that several of its clients have terminated contracts and refuse to close new ones.

According to Bloombergthis move comes after nearly a year and a half of attempts by the world’s largest drone manufacturer to have the Pentagon remove it from the document backed by the National Defense Authorization Act. “DJI determined it had no alternative but to seek relief in federal court,” a spokesperson said.

DJI says it is not a Chinese military company

DJI maintains in its lawsuit the same argument that it has repeated over and over again in recent times. The firm assures that not owned by the chinese military and that only manufactures commercial and consumer drones. In this sense, it has added that its product catalog does not include military drones. These arguments have not been enough for the United States.

The aforementioned legislation requires the Department of Defense to identify “Chinese military companies” that operate directly or indirectly in the country. The objective of this task is none other than to counteract the strategic movements in which civil and military activities are merged promoted by the People’s Liberation Army of the Asian giant.

Washington points out that many of the Chinese military advances arise from the technologies and experience developed by companies, universities and programs of entities that They appear to have civil purposes. DJI, which holds more than half of the US drone markethas taken a hard hit after being included on the list.

Reuters explains that being included on the list does not translate into a sanction. However, this is a public warning for all companies that want to do business with it. In addition, it can be the starting point for other types of measures with greater impact, such as a sanction from the Treasury Department.

At the same time, an initiative to ban the use of DJI drones in US airspace makes its way through Congress. If this measure were to become a reality, it would not only cause problems for DJI, but also for its users. Obviously, people are not going to want to buy drones that they cannot use within their country.

It should be noted that Washington’s efforts to limit Chinese military development include many other high-profile measures. Among them we find export controls on cutting-edge technologies that prevent firms like NVIDIA from offering their most advanced products within the Asian giant.

Images | Andrey K

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