Craig Singleton
For years, policymakers treated Chinese drones the way they treat most controversial technologies: as a procurement problem, deciding what to buy, what to ban, and what to phase out. But the drone market has already moved on. The next leap in public-safety aviation is the rise of drone docking stations, fixed hubs that stage multiple drones on standby to support first responders and protect critical infrastructure. While Washington recently banned new Chinese drones from entering the US market, Beijing is already shifting the competition to drone docks, positioning its companies to dominate an industry that first responders will depend upon when seconds matter.
The FCC’s Drone Ban Targeting China
Last December, after an extensive national security review, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) updated its Covered List to include foreign-produced unmanned aircraft systems and their critical components. The logic was straightforward: drones from certain foreign countries, namely China, can be used to harvest sensitive data or be sabotaged through rogue software updates. The FCC’s ruling did not ground Chinese drones already in use; however, the decision prevents new Chinese drone models from operating in American airspace on national security grounds.
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