China's drones account for 92% of the US market!
In recent years, Chinese drone manufacturers have been frequently targeted by the US government for "national security" reasons. However, these baseless accusations have not found any evidence, and Chinese drones have continued to establish their reputation and expand their market share by relying on their superior products.
Not only are Chinese drones cheaper, but their technical level is also significantly higher than that of American drones. Chinese drones have a 90% market share among US law enforcement agencies and a staggering 92% market share in emergency rescue operations. An American police officer described Chinese drones as a luxury SUV, while American drones are a more expensive compact car. "Which one would you choose?"
According to Nikkei Asia, the report first described the situation observed in Hardin County, Kentucky, where the county sheriff's first drone was a Chinese drone donated by a local agricultural cooperative in 2021 to help police track down teenagers who had damaged hundreds of acres of farm crops. Compared to the slow pace of police patrols, the drone could capture the suspect's image within just a few minutes.
Travis Cook, a police officer, introduced that the drone soon became an indispensable tool for local law enforcement and a five-drone "drone fleet" was established, which had been used to search for potential toxic substances on derailed trains and even save the life of a police officer in a hostage kidnapping case.
However, these Chinese drones, which have played a crucial role in security events and rescue operations, and even saved the lives of many people, have been labeled as a "national security threat" by some politicians with ulterior motives in the US, and have been constantly suppressed.
Since the beginning of this year, the US's "black hand" has not yet been withdrawn. In March, the US House of Representatives' "US-China Strategic Competition Special Committee" called on the Biden administration to impose higher tariffs on Chinese drones (including those transferred from other countries into the US) and adopt new incentive measures to promote the development of US drone There is no up-to-date data on the popularity of Chinese drones among local law enforcement agencies, but a 2020 study from Bard College showed that Chinese drones accounted for 90% of the drone market share in law enforcement agencies.
"If these anti-China laws come into effect, it will be the death of Americans.This is not an exaggeration. I can give you the real names of American citizens - if I were forced to use American drones, they would already be dead." On April 11th, The Washington Post wrote an article about the current state of the small drone industry in the United States. Kyle Nordfors, a senior drone search and rescue coordinator in the United States, pointed out that American manufacturers "are still lagging behind by several years," and that Chinese drones have better performance, which can have a significant impact on life and death in search and rescue operations.