Chinese drone maker DJI sues US Defence Department over ‘military ties’ blacklisting

Chinese drone maker DJI is suing the US Defence Department for adding it to a list of companies working with Beijing’s military, saying the designation is wrong and has caused it significant financial harm.

The lawsuit says it is challenging the “erroneous designation of the company as a ‘Chinese Military Company’” and is seeking to be removed from the blacklist.

“[DJI] determined it had no alternative other than to seek relief in [US] federal court. DJI is not owned or controlled by the Chinese military, and the DOD [Department of Defence] itself acknowledges that DJI makes consumer and commercial drones, not military drones,” the firm said.

It says it has engaged with the Pentagon for more than 16 months but “determined it had no alternative other than” to pursue the court action, adding that the drone supplier has always been “dedicated to promoting the application of civilian drone products and opposes the use of its products for military purposes”.

The lawsuit says that as a result of the “unlawful and misguided decision”, it has “lost business deals, been stigmatised as a national security threat and banned from contracting with multiple federal government agencies”.

It also says “US and international customers have terminated existing contracts with DJI and refuse to enter into new ones”.