The American Security Drone Act What You Should Know

Tomorrow, May 12, 2021, the U.S. Congress meets to discuss the American Security Drone Act.  (See text of the bill at the link.)  The American Security Drone Act is a “Bill To ban the Federal procurement of certain drones and other unmanned aircraft systems, and for other purposes,” – specifically, to ban federal procurement (with some exceptions) of drones manufactured by “a covered foreign entity,” including the People’s Republic of China.  The Bill formalizes the ongoing discussion in the U.S. government over a ban on Chinese-manufactured technology.

Regardless of your political views and the U.S. – China trade war, the Drone Service Providers Alliance (DSPA), a member-based association that advocates for reasonable FAA regulations in the Unmanned Aircraft (sUAS) industry, has issued a statement listing five reasons why a country of origin ban is not the best way of supporting domestic manufacturing of drones in the U.S. and developing strong cybersecurity…