The United States abandons restrictions because American police and farmers heavily rely on Chinese drones

The revised version of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, recently released by the US Senate Armed Services Committee, ultimately did not include provisions restricting Chinese drones. US media confirmed that police departments and farmers in the United States heavily use Chinese drones, and there is currently no alternative if restrictions are imposed.

The New York Times reported that the Texas police department has 966 registered drones, of which 935 are from China and 879 are from DJI. In addition, American media also pointed out that 80% of the drones used by American farmers are Chinese drones.

Chinese drones have been welcomed by the US police department and farmers due to their advanced technology. After years of development, China's drone technology has become mature and has formed a complete technical system. Drones fly stably and can be used in many environments, forming a good reputation among US police and farmers.

Of course, another reason is that Chinese drones are more affordable. Previously, overseas spin off agencies found that many components of Chinese drones come from China's mobile phone industry chain. By using the existing industry chain, lower cost accessories can be obtained, and Chinese drone companies can manufacture these low-cost accessories reliably and provide high-definition videos.

In terms of agricultural drones, Chinese drone companies have developed agricultural drones that carry 50 kilograms of pesticides, have a range of more than 3 hours, and are priced at only around $8000. This high load and long range drone can also meet the requirements of the US police department and is therefore quite popular.

In the global drone market, China's drones have gained an absolute advantage. China's largest drone company, DJI, is estimated to account for nearly 70% of the global market share. DJI has proven its technological advantages in market competition and has gained popularity among many customers in Europe and America.

Drones are becoming increasingly widely used in industry and agriculture, with their market size constantly expanding. They have also attracted the attention of some venture capital in the United States. Several drone startups emerged in the United States a few years ago, but after spending hundreds of millions of dollars, the drones they developed were criticized for their immature technology and cost three times that of Xinjiang. Eventually, the companies went bankrupt as soon as they successfully developed them.

The strong competitiveness of Chinese drones in the US market has raised concerns among relevant US departments. Since 2016, the US has frequently taken measures against Chinese drones. However, due to the lack of competitiveness in the US drone industry, it has been unable to compete with Chinese drones, which has repeatedly led to opposition from many industries in the US. Therefore, the US always talks big but pays little attention. This year is undoubtedly another time that the US has considered the dependence of many industries on Chinese drones and ultimately abandoned restrictions.

In the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the role of UAVs in the battlefield is further highlighted, and the world will trigger a new round of boom in the development of UAVs. The Chinese UAVs that have gained advantages in the market competition have gained the first mover advantage, and continue to strengthen their industrial advantages. China's military UAVs have also begun to be recognized by customers in the Middle East, and China's Rainbow series UAVs have been successively purchased by customers in the Middle East, showing that China's UAVs are far ahead in technology.

Chinese drones have a global advantage, proving that Chinese manufacturing is no longer a low tech product. More and more Chinese high-tech products are going global, and Chinese manufacturing is attracting global customers with its unique charm. The fact proves that as long as China's high-tech product technology is advanced enough, the United States cannot restrict these products from entering the world market. This will further encourage China to strengthen independent technology research and development and enhance China's technological innovation advantage.