Dronemaker DJI is suing the Pentagon over Chinese military listings, alleging massive financial harm

DJI, the world’s largest drone manufacturer that sells more than half of all US drones, sued the Defense Department for classifying the drone maker as allegedly working with the Chinese military.

On Friday, DJI asked a US district judge in Washington to order it to be removed from the Pentagon’s list of what it called a “Chinese military company,” saying it “does not belong to the Chinese military and is not under its control.”

DJI said the DOD’s split resulted in “loss of business deals, stigmatization as a national security threat, and barred from contracting with many federal government agencies.”

“U.S. and international customers have terminated existing contracts with DJI and are refusing to enter into new ones,” the lawsuit said.

MY CHINESE DRONE BAN IS A HUGE VICTORY FOR OUR NATIONAL SECURITY BUT CCP TECH IS STILL SPREADING BIG THREATS.

DJI said Friday it filed the lawsuit after the Department of Defense did not cooperate with the company on its designation for more than 16 months, saying it had “no choice but to seek relief in federal court.”

“On October 18, DJI filed a lawsuit to challenge the Department of Defense (DoD)’s erroneous designation of the company as a ‘Chinese Military Company,’ DJI told Fox News Digital on Friday. “After trying to engage with the DoD for more than sixteen months, during this period DJI highlighted several deficiencies in the report that formed the basis of the DoD’s decision to list DJI. Despite these efforts, the DoD has refused to delist DJI. DJI decided there was no other option but to seek relief in federal court.

“DJI is not owned or controlled by the Chinese military, and the DoD itself acknowledges that DJI makes consumer and commercial drones, not military drones. DJI is a private company and should not be misclassified as a military company. The company argues and the appointment of the CMC and insists that it has nothing to do with any military activities.”

LAWYERS DEPRESS CCP INFLUENCE IN US GOVERNMENT TECH, WARN OF ‘LATEST’ CYBER ATTACKS

Many Chinese giants listed firms, including airline AVIC, memory chipmaker YMTC, China Mobile, and energy company CNOOC.

The program to notify drone pilots wq down on Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration said. (iStock / Stock)

US lawmakers have repeatedly expressed concern about DJI drones pose data transfer, surveillance and national security risks, something the company denies.

Last month, the US House voted to ban new drones from DJI from operating in the US The bill is awaiting action by the US Senate.