Key Points
- A new DJI update enables everyday operators to fly their drones over and into airports, military bases, sensitive infrastructure, wildfires, and national no-fly zones in the United States.
- Hundreds of sensitive-site operators may be forced to deploy counter-drone solutions. The update comes just days after a DJI drone crashed into a firefighting waterbomber over California.
- DJI promises to place “control back in the hands of the drone operators, in line with regulatory principles of the operator bearing final responsibility” — and tells Hunterbrook that it has given “authorities the tools they need to enforce existing rules.”
- DJI, by one estimate, controls 90% of the global consumer drone market. The company currently faces the risk of a total ban in the U.S.
It’s already baked into the cloud software, actually. when you fly into restricted airspace, it should provide a warning. (and previously would require some kind of permit or something. I dunno. DJI’s suck. but that’s a rant for another time.)