Can The U.S. Compete With Chinese Drones?

Chinese made drones have dominated the market for quad copters for over a decade. They’re used by university researchers, firefighters, and police around the world. But growing geopolitical concerns, and the use of drones as weapons of war in Ukraine, and by Hamas during attacks on Israel, have made some critics concerned about U.S. dependence on these small but capable Chinese made machines.

Chapters:
00:00 — Introduction
02:29 — The drone king
04:42 — Made in America?
06:08 — Police drones
08:17 — War drones
11:15 — What's next?

Produced by: Brad Howard
Supervising Producer: Jeff Morganteen
Additional Footage: Fortem Technology, BRINC Drones, DJI, Skydio, Getty, Reuters

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Can The U.S. Compete With Chinese Drones?

[DarkVader-jjdt]

America might be able to produce drones but at about 15x the cost of a DJI drone.

[tallesteva]

Ah, the ole "national security concerns" again.
Let me help Translate that: "We used to be market leading but we rested on our laurels while a Chinese company innovated and rose to dominate the market. Our American companies have tried to compete and have gotten their asses kicked, so they need help from Uncle Sam to try and cripple their Chinese competition".

[webiplus]

I bought my DJI Mavic Pro 8yrs ago, it has flown across Asia, Africa, Europe, flown in rain & strong winds & it still flies like its brand new.

[corporealaegis]

We should be more concern if US can compete with China's infrastructure, transportation and reducing the homeless population.

[goinnovation]

Why is DJI the world leader? Because DJI has transformed consumer drones from model aircraft and workshops into cost-effective flying cameras that everyone can enjoy, and has expanded into power, agriculture and other industries.
The most important thing is that DJI has always been at the forefront of consumer drone industry technology and continues to push its own technological boundaries, not just cheap.

[raidenshougun]

everytime a chinese company dominates a section, the US will just sanction it. (prime example is Huawei)

[Smojero]

The US vilifying everything made in China or calling it liw quality is getting old.

[JxcksonSF]

DJI: " we make drones for civilian, we dont want our products in military hands"
US companies:" lets make drones for war"

[hdhsdebendan]

Warning: national security concern!
When the United States can't compete with a better company, just arrest the founder and band it. 😂😂

[MiguelReyes]

Two weeks ago, i started using the dji t40 in my plaintain farm in the Dominican Republic, it is amazing, easy to use, cuts tons of cost in products and labor ... and it looks futuristic. People from the town where my farm is located literally stopped by the road just to see the drone work, is like watching a ufo .. DJi is definitely ahead of the game

[semanadelherrero]

The United States has no chance to surpass DJI. All of DJI's technology patents, including production parts, account for as much as 80% of the world's share. Drone patents account for more than 95% of the civilian market. The United States has nothing to do with DJI because Including drone chips are all made in China. 14-28 nanometers are enough for drones, not to mention that China has already broken through 7 nanometers.

[rudyalfonsus]

when you close your market from DJI, you close the competition. without competition, quality of product will be lower

[zhengpinghu]

Counting the numbers of the "Security Concerns": 1. DJI; 2. Huawei; 3. TikTok; 4. BYD; 5. Solar Panel; 6. HSR; 7. Shein and Temu; 8. Toaster; 9. Mask; 10. Toys. Should I continue?

[americannumber]

thank you china and thank you DJI. I had never thought I would be able to fly a drone. if the US can make one. we can't afford.

[QuangDo-xqcv]

If China stops accepting the US PAPER dollars in exchange for their high quality products, then do you think US is still thriving?
If the US regime and American people keep borrowing/printing PAPER dollar/spending, then do you think China will keep accepting those US PAPER dollars?

[unreliablenarrator]

DJI is the market leader by far and produces the most sophisticated drones for peaceful use. DJI drones have been well-proven to be secure and are produced for peaceful use only. Some DJI drones have been repurposed for use in war by both sides of the Ukraine war. The USA is currently using "national security' as a catch-all rationale to limit the rise of successful Chinese companies. DJI is a perfect example: DJI is the market leader because it is an innovator that produces high quality products. If the USA cannot dominate markets it seems to take the position whomever is leading needs to be punched down; this was the case with Japan and Korea, and it is happening with China now. Pathetic. Believing US companies will have an edge on AI is a little ridiculous considering Chinese already lead in the use of AI for mass-market peaceful use. Can US companies own the government market simply because they are American? Probably. But the consumer market? Impossible, that train left the station a decade ago.

[jukio]

Yes, US can make drones, but they will cost more and may have less features.

[thomasrogers]

when America can not compete we lash out at chinese companies and accusing them of spying. We Americans do not want to compete.

[triskelion]

American paranoia is becoming the biggest threat to Americans.

[jcy]

When it comes to electronics, any company that exits the consumer market by declaring they're "focusing on enterprise" is effectively already on the down slide. Case in point, both DJI, Apple and Tesla dominate the consumer market and are able to continuously improve their offerings for the enterprise market as well, because of continuous consumer side feedback and optimization. Any company saying otherwise is just lying to themselves.