These missions require persistent presence and responsive deployment to address emerging events such as wildfires, earthquakes, volcanos, floods, search and rescues, etc. The broader use of drone technology at the DoI began in 2006 with scientific, environmental, and land management applications.ĭoI missions are often conducted in remote areas with severe terrain and weather conditions that can be hazardous to department personnel. The Interior Department started exploring drone technology back in 2004 when a UAS was used to acquire data during a volcanic event on Mount St. What does the Interior Department use drones for? Its officials cannot use China-manufactured drones for any other missions – including tracking wildfires. However, since the grounding order, the DoI has been allowed to use its existing drone fleet only for emergency missions such as controlled burnings that prevent wildfires. To address the elephant in the room, DJI has shared several independent cybersecurity audits that prove that no data is transferred from its products to either the Chinese government or the company itself. But, in 2020, the Trump administration grounded those drones over fears that they may be sending sensitive flight information to their China-based manufacturers, where it could be accessed by the Chinese government. With 810 drones, the DoI runs the US government’s largest fleet of civilian uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS). According to the memo:īy only having the ‘Blue UAS’ approved, it reduces DoI sensor capabilities by 95%… The aircraft are designed for a very specific DoD mission set and will only meet around 20% of DoI mission requirements. But even if cost were not an issue, it’s the capabilities of these drones that worry the DoI the most. In contrast, DJI’s Government Edition products have an average price of $2,100. The memo, which has been verified by the Financial Times, goes on to warn that the blue sUAS drones were 8 to 14 times more expensive than the aircraft the department was previously able to purchase.įrom what we could find, the cheapest Blue sUAS drone with a controller starts from $7,800, while more sophisticated models can cost as high as $21,000.
In a seething memo sent to the incoming Biden administration in January, the DoI says that the Pentagon’s Blue sUAS program has reduced the department’s sensor capabilities by as much as 95%. The Pentagon-approved Blue sUAS drones are 8 to 14 times more expensive and only 20% as effective when it comes to vital conservation work, according to the Department of Interior (DoI). But how do these drones stack up against the competition? Not too well, according to an internal US government memo. The Pentagon has spent roughly $18 million to test and identify drones that government agencies can use instead of those made or assembled in China.
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