America is probably not behind in long-range strike drones, esp those that are supersonic, carrying high payloads and with stealth characteristics (hard to detect).
But we are very much behind on short-range dual-use quadcopters, which are produced for a massive global market and DJI has achieved economies of scale.
People on HN should know that DJI has built-in advantages in tracking its own drones (Aerospace), and most certainly backdoors to access data that users would prefer to hide. China has used that edge to Russia’s advantage in the Ukraine war. We should ban them from the West.
At the same time, it is possible to assemble an FPV from Chinese and Taiwanese parts for about $350, if you do it in the right country. Skydio will not achieve that, but someone else could.
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